The One Who Saw Hell
by The Disturbed Immortal
Summary: A near death experience under the hands of an angry mob changes Naruto's life forever. Now armed with a great power and having lost what made him who he was, he leaves Konoha to find purpose. However all isn't easy when you have a whole village and a criminal organisation bent on world domination looking for you. Where will his journey lead him? Slightly Cold! Rinnegan Naruto!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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**Well I think I'm on a roll, second story already. Anyway please read and review, it's a most youthful thing to do. I knew i just had to post this after the damn thing wouldn't leave my head, so to avoid a brain malfunction and explosion, i decided hey, what the ****, imma post this...  
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**PROLOGUE**

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**(Konohagakure no Sato)**

It was dark out in the village of Konohagakure, the night was beautiful and starry stained. Serene Breezes blew by the leaves of the many trees that defined the village of Konohagakure.

The serene quietness was ruined by the sound of loud and quick stumbling steps and many curses of 'Catch the Demon brat'.

He ran. He had to keep running…and he ran as fast as his little legs could take him as his mob pursuers kept on their relentless chase, their slurring voices following after him. His tattered clothing was stained with patches of blood and dirt and he had numerous Shuriken embedded in his back. He was panting harshly and running with stumbling steps, a clear sign of exertion. His small lithe frame was quivering with fear and exhaustion but he persevered on, hoping that by some miracle he would make it to his apartment.

If one would look they would wonder what sort of business an 8 year old boy would have with a particularly hostile mob at this time of night, however the boy being pursued was no ordinary boy and the danger he was hoping to evade, not normal either. The mere sight of the boy's bright sun kissed, spiky blond hair, blue cerulean eyes and whiskered face had those very few who were looking on in wonder and concern turn away in disdain or even joining in on the hunt. This boy was none other than the resident Konohagakure Jinchuriki to the greatest Bijuu ever known, the Kyuubi no Yoko. A being of unparalleled malevolence and hatred; said to be able to cause great Tsunamis and other catastrophic disasters with a single swipe of its tails.

The same natural disaster that had run amok in the village and nearly razed Konohagakure no Sato to the ground eight mere years ago. It devoured countless Konoha defenders or the village's military force known as Shinobi and was responsible for the near destruction of the village had it not been stopped by the then village leader, The Yondaime Hokage. It had appeared and left a trail of unmatched and inhumane destruction in its wake, before being sealed resulting in the birth of a Jinchuuriki. The concept of a Jinchuuriki was simple enough if one looked at it rationally. It could even be simplified by comparing the sealing of the ninja weapon the Kunai into a sealing scroll. However, there were still some who misconceived them and compared the presence of a Bijuu inside a host body to the possession of human beings by demons or evil spirits.

The ordinary civilian, who didn't understand that the Bijuu were merely living entities of dense Chakra, the same energy Shinobi relied on for their abilities, mistook them for immortal Demonic entities and shunned and persecuted the hosts to these beasts. These Jinchuriki were heroes if one looked at them positively because if not for their sacrifice, the Bijuu would still be running wild and destroying villages. However not all Jinchuriki were chosen out of circumstance but some were created purely to increase the strength of their village and to be used as weapons during war. It was purely out of human greed and the desire for more power than anything else and many of these' special' individuals suffered extreme scrutiny and isolation from society because of that.

These Chakra monsters were hunted down for their power and captured by the villages before being sealed into unwilling Jinchuriki and the boy being pursued was one of them, but only created out of choice and a lack of options. So For eight years the vessel to the terrible beast that had nearly annihilated the entire village had to suffer extreme animosity and isolation because the people of Konoha, being human, looked for someone to blame and the boy carrying the object of their pain, became the object of their hatred and disdain.

As he appeared to them, the boy was simply the beast he carried in normal civilian perspective and thus, the general consensus and wish was for him to be executed lest he becomes the beast and destroys the village. Those who were Shinobi understood the intricacy of Bijuu, Jinchuuriki and Fuuinjutsu to know the boy was merely a child who had the misfortune of being made into the host of the beast which demolished several of their comrades. However being able to recognize what the boy was didn't mean they saw past their dislike and prejudice toward him. They simply ignored him if they could, while a few bothered to treat him as a person.

The boy, having turned eight a few months ago had always taken all the negative aura thrown at him with stride. He was almost usually unfazed by the people's contempt toward him, however that was only for face. He had always been told that they would eventually come to see him as a person if he proved them wrong but when he did something to warrant attention, it merely aggravated the persecution toward him and it grew day by day where they would glare at him every turn he took. Whispering about how they wished he could just drop and die and how the village would be a better place without him.

Today was no different…

Naruto had been walking home from the Hokage monument where he had been since being chased out of class in the academy. He had been thinking greatly, pondering his life up to this point and how shallow and meaningless it had been. The blond had been experiencing thoughts tempting him to leave the village but he had been dismissing them day after day. After leaving the monument, the blond, who was wearing a white mesh shirt with a red-spiral center with black shorts and blue sandals, was suddenly ambushed with Shuriken and dangerous weapons before being chased after by a 'angry mob' of civilians who had hidden in the darkened alleyways that led to his apartment. It seemed that they had quietly waited for him and the blond had been surprised the people had decided to attack him because normally they only shunned him and ignored his very existence. However today was different and they had decided to show how deep their hatred for him ran, through their fists.

As he rounded a corner he was met with the sneering face of one of his pursuers and a hard punch to the face that sent him sprawling across the ground. He tried to get up however he was roughly kicked in the stomach for his efforts and held by the throat as his attacker hoisted him up.

He coughed up and tried to speak "W-why a-are you doing this? W-w-wh-at did i…do..to..you?" the blond boy pleaded in a hoarse voice, however his efforts only earned him another hard punch to the face and a rough collision with the wall as he was harshly tossed by his attacker.

"Don't pretend you don't know what you did demon, today is the day we finally get rid of you and make you pay for all the people you killed," a man dressed in Shinobi clothing said as he sneered at the blond boy, the other men and women with him all nodding in unison in agreement to his statement with similarly evil smiles.

"Yeah this is for my brother who you killed. It is time to die filthy demon...now feel our PAIN." another man who looked to be in his late twenties said as he gave the boy a hard punch to the face.

Two steely projectiles flew toward the blond, piercing through his stomach, causing globs of blood to fly out of the boy's mouth.

The crimson liquid spilled through his clothing and the blood formed a patch of red on his now tattered white-shirt. Naruto let out a strangled scream of pain as both Kunai drove under his ribcage and felt as one of them punctured his lung. He drew in sharp, painful, haggard breaths; his eyes squinted in pain and drooping slightly. Everything in his line of vision was blurry and flickered like projections.

He felt tired, exhausted and just wished for it to end.

The perpetrator stood there in all his mighty, a young man clad in Konoha Chuunin attire, his beady brown eyes gleaming evilly and his hand still outstretched from his throw. The rest of the mob participants all smiled when they saw the 'demon' being unceremoniously tossed and beaten around like rag doll. Finally they would have their revenge, they would kill this monster before it shed its human skin and turn into the nightmare from all those eight years ago.

One of the men's eye gained a dangerous glint to it as he pulled out a knife and pointed it at the boy "I shall finish you myself. Then the village will praise me as a hero for this. I will send you to hell you monster" the man said as he approached the blond boy. Savoring the moment at the sight of seeing the cornered 'demon scum' sprawled across the ground, helpless, cowering in fear as they had when 'it' attacked the village.

"But I...I didn't kill anybody. Please s-stop" The boy said as he slowly tried to stand up, however this action only aggravated the attackers even more. In a blink of an eye he was roughly hoisted by his collar and kneed in the stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs as he struggled to breathe. He could feel his head swimming and could barely decipher the words the mob were chanting and muttering.

He could still hear some of the words such as "kill the demon"

"We are going to finish what Yondaime-sama started"

"It is time to die you stain"

"We won't let you corrupt our children"

_'Why?_'

The boy couldn't understand why these people hated, no loathed him with the fury that would put that of a vengeful deity to shame. He hadn't killed anyone, heck he could barely hold a Kunai properly. All this hatred was in so many ways utterly inhumane and wrong yet no one had done anything about it, because they either didn't care or wanted him dead as much as these people did. All the blond could ask himself was, why?

He could feel warm tears trickling down his cheeks as he faced and waited for his inevitable death. So this was it. He was finally going to die. Like some street dog, these people who spat on him, on his existence, shunned him and who beat him up would finally take away his life. A small part of him thought that maybe it was for the best; no one would mourn him when he died? No one! He had no one, no parents, no friends, no family; he was just alone, miserable, pathetic and weak that he couldn't defend himself from these people.

Some would wonder why he didn't try to fight back. He was capable enough to after all with even the slightest of training from the academy he still could use Chakra and some of them couldn't, But the answer was very simple, he didn't have it in him. He was afraid, not of the people or of fighting itself, no he was afraid of giving these people more reason to call him a monster because he believed given time and when he got strong enough and became Hokage they would finally change, finally see him for who he truly is, but who was he really? The trouble-making child who always had a large smile plastered on his face every day? Who took everything the world had to offer and still smiled brightly, as if nothing could get to him, his spirit and drive were unbreakable! Or were they?

_'Why?'_ from a young age the question still plagued his mind like a pandemic disease that just won't be cured, he had tried asking the Hokage for answers but that was almost as fruitful as his search for a clothing store that will allow him to buy clothes.

For the longest time he had thought by trying to bring as much attention to himself as he could with his prank escapades and trouble child actions, these people would acknowledge him, see him for who he is, Naruto Uzumaki. But then, that begged the question, if he did all that to bring attention to himself, 'becoming a troublemaker and loud mouth to earn acknowledgement', then who was Naruto Uzumaki, the lonely child who existed before the troublemaker?

_'It would be better if I died, then I would be free of all of this pain and loneliness_' Naruto thought as he closed his eyes and prepared for the finishing blow that will end all the pain and misery he had suffered for seven years in this village.

It was a cowardly way to go but he was still just a child and he heard stories that in the afterlife you will meet your parents, family, '_Goodbye old man, Ayame nee, Teuchi- ojii_' a rough kick to his face had him reeling on the ground and coughing out blood, he watched through heavy-lidded eyes as one of his attackers inched closer to him, a dangerous weapon in their hand poised to strike and once and for all put an end to him.

'_**How naïve and foolish!'**_

He could almost hear a voice snort in the back of his head, to think all this time he had believed he could change the hearts of these people; it was clear to him now, how evil people were. They plastered smiles on their faces publicly, while deep down they harbored enough hatred to suffocate the very world itself. He was a victim of that hatred. That he knew, although why, he didn't.

All he wanted was for it to end; Naruto Uzumaki had finally had enough. The spark that he were had finally been snuffed out, diminished, forever lost in the never-ending abyss of hatred that surrounded him like a plague.

'_**You're weak!'**_ The voice growled out yet again, making the blond twist his head in wonder.

But he just lay there on the ground and waited.

He felt as something warm and sticky trickled down his cheeks, mixing with the blood that covered his face. His…Tears?

Why was he crying? He had told himself he would never give these people the pleasure of seeing him break down and cry in front of them, for the harsh treatment they showed him. He did cry when he was alone in his degraded apartment, where no one would see him and how vulnerable he was, where he didn't have to wear his mask consistently. So why now, after so much effort on his part to make sure he wouldn't shed tears in front of these people?

The answer was simple; he didn't want to die, not in such a pathetic way. Not like a cornered wild animal that had caused trouble on a farm and had finally been caught. He was shedding tears not for myself but the eight year old innocent boy who never knew happiness and will die without experiencing it.

'_Somebody, please make it stop'_ He didn't want to die. He didn't want to die! _'I don't want to die here!'_

_'__Not like this…'_ The words continued to echo in the back of his mind and suddenly raw emotions began stirring up in his very being.

'_**Then let me take away your pain; let me make it stop' **_Naruto's tears stopped at that and he cocked his head in confusion and nodded his head, accepting the help of whoever it is that was whispering to him.

'_They have no right. They can't do this to me. They won't_….' He could feel as a warm feeling fluttered in his stomach, strengthening and fueling his body like nothing he had ever felt before. It was chaotic and it burned as hot as lava, however it seemed so in tune with his body. He could feel his body guiding it from the core to every part of his body and he could feel all the raw emotions it brought with it, anger, Hatred, benevolence and finally blood-lust.

It was power and it was extraordinary, the young blond just wanted to bask in it for a while, to revel in the feel of this incredible power, he felt strong and the pain that he had felt, the wounds from all those attacks had all faded away and only the stench smell of blood hung on him and on his tattered clothing. It felt evil yet at the same time it seemed to console him with its chaotic warmth, however for a brief moment it stopped it chaotic flowing and a cold feeling overcame it, reigning it in and suppressing it yet at the same time while still holding it to place. Naruto's eyes burned viciously and he clutched them with his hands to ease the burning feeling in them.

'_**YOU FOOL!'**_

Naruto heard that strange voice let out a deep growl of rage which boomed inside his head as the hot feeling subsided. Suddenly he found himself in a darkened room, before an enormous cage with a paper sticking to it, the cage was rattling loudly as two large orange clawed-hands violently shook the bars of the cage in anger. Two massive red orbs were behind the gate and Naruto unconsciously sent a wave of Chakra into the cage, which quieted down the being behind the structure.

'_**NO! YOU CAN'T HAVE HIS EYES. WHAT PATHETIC BLASPHEMY IS THIS? COME HERE SO I CAN RIP OUT THOSE PATHETIC FAUX EYES OF YOURS'**_ the enormous furry-arm arm reached out fruitlessly, viciously attempting to grab at the smaller blond. The blond tuned out the loud bellowing screams and roars as he came back to unconsciousness.

He opened his eyes and the mob froze, his eyes were now deep reddish-purple with circular ripples and a slit for a pupil, they looked dead, cold, uncaring and his expression was an apathetic one of another kind. It was almost as if he had undergone a transformation of some kind, for there in his place no longer stood the naïve and hyperactive boy who caused trouble on a daily basis, but rather a boy who knew loneliness, who had seen pain and who radiated enough hatred that it suffocated the people who stood before him.

Naruto couldn't understand what was happening to him but he knew that these people were all frightened of him; he could see some of them shivering with fear and wondered what could have happened to cause him to scare them so much. He could feel that he felt stronger, tons of times stronger than he did before. His senses could pick out anything; his smell, sight, hearing and his other sense were all augmented by this new feeling. Could this be why the people called him a demon?

He could feel the burning sensation bubbling inside of him, trying to feed on his negative emotion, trying to erupt like a glob of unrestrained lava from him. However strangely enough he reigned it in effortlessly, it kept trying to fight him for control but its attempts all ended futile, he could feel curiosity well up inside him at this, replacing the negative emotions he felt earlier. Naruto turned and stared at the people who stood before him with an impassive, confused gaze. They all had frightened looks on their faces, and were now cowering away in fear, he took a step forward and they all stumbled backwards, some shouting out unintelligibly about a demon.

With reflexes he hadn't possessed before he swerved out-of-the-way of a large sharp projectile as it cut the position where he had stood, creating ripples of air and cutting some fabric of his shirt.

He looked at the 'annoyance' that stood before him with a confused gaze. For some strange reason he felt that this new presence was an 'annoyance'. Where he learned the word he didn't know. He seemed to not know a lot of things it seemed.

The man was dressed in the standard Konoha-nin uniform of the village and on his back had a large Fuma Shuriken; he had shoulder length bluish-white hair, a Hitai-ate worn like a bandana on his forehead, and a very wide sneer on his face. Naruto's eyebrow rose delicately at the man who stood before him, he remembered him as one of the new academy instructors and as far as he knew the man he had never held any ill will toward him or he did and he hid it well, perhaps that was how it was, all the world hated him and the only ones who he thought understood and cared for him only pretended to do so.

The man smirked as he saw the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki glance at him with a raised eyebrow, "Do you know why all these people are here? Why we detest the very sight of you?" Naruto kept looking at the man, an interested glimmer in his eyes. "That is because you are the Kyuubi; eight years ago Yondaime-sama sealed the beast into you. Now you are the demon, you killed all those people back then. You're a murderous Bakemono in human form and Today I will finally put an end to you Kyuubi" he said savoring the look of dejection on Naruto's face "Everyone watch as I Mizuki finish the job the Yondaime Hokage started" The man's statement evoked cheers from the large crowd that had gathered by who started cheering for the man to kill the demon as they returned to their senses.

Naruto glanced about and looked into the nearby trees calmly, he could sense and make out various Chakra silhouettes that were hidden in the trees looking at the events as they went by. He wondered how long they had waited there, probably waiting until he had gotten his 'fix' before they rescued him like the good saints they were. If this man attacked him, then he would fight back because he didn't care about the consequences anymore. He twisted his head ever so slightly, his gaze travelling to the great mountain in the background of the village. His gaze landed on the fourth statue-head of a spiky haired man and the barest of frowns lined Naruto's features.

He tore his gaze reluctantly from the stone-head of the Yondaime as he felt slight anger try to overtake him; gazing above where he could into the skies over the village where he could there was a giant spherical object that stretched on for miles, encompassing what he assumed was the entire village.

He always knew he was naïve but he was far from stupid, no one would live on the streets and practically raised themselves and not know how the world worked. How prejudiced people could be, how they hated without a reason and loved without so much as returned his gaze to that of the white-haired Chuunin and felt anger rise up within him as he recalled what the man had said. He was struggling from keeping himself from blowing up and telling the man that all he had said was a lie and that he was him, not the Kyuubi but could he disagree after seeing that 'thing'? He wanted to scream, shout about how unfair it was that they treated him terribly but he didn't. Unfair or not, it had happened.

He was a beast and it had been an eight year old struggle of his and for all those years he had screamed and shouted the unfairness of their treatment on him, had loudly declared he will still be Hokage regardless and would show them, but that only served to increase the people's hatred for himself and nothing changed. So what would a few angry words do now? He had enough of their glares; he felt he would soon snap at them. He snapped out of his daze as the white-haired Chuunin as he charged him, Naruto waited for the man, raising his hand slowly, his eyes glinted before he muttered the first thing that came to mind and the last words the 'poor' Chuunin would ever hear.

"Shinra Tensei" for a second nothing happened, as it seemed as if the young blond was seemingly playing a game, however a second later Mizuki was forcefully repelled by an invisible force that flung him into the air like some propelling rocket projectile. A large path was paved where the man was flung as trees were blown away, before he collided with a large tree with a sickening crunch, blood erupted from his mouth as he slid down the tree which fell a second later and then his eyes closed, showing the man was dead.

Everybody looked at what had just occurred with wide eyes, and then pandemonium erupted as people began screaming and running away from the 'monster' like headless chicken.

Naruto just gazed at them with an impassive expression, however many failed to see the sad expression that was etched across his face. He had not meant to do that however it was as if he had been possessed even when he muttered that Jutsu's name.

He truly was a monster and he now believed it.

He turned to leave only to be stopped by a very firm voice from behind him, he could feel as cold steel pressed against his neck before the person who sounded like a man spoke "Don't move unless you want to die, I am taking you to Hokage-sama so don't make things harder for us" Naruto just remained quiet however a second later the vile and suffocating presence that hung in the air seemingly dissipated as the blond Jinchuuriki collapsed to the ground with exhaustion.

The person behind him with gravity defying spiky silver hair, wearing a white ANBU black op mask with black and red markings around its eyes, mouth and on each side of it, and the traditional Konoha ANBU flak jacket, metal plates on both his hands and arm guards on his arms, on his left shoulder an engraving of the ANBU tattoo sheathed his sword before picking the blond up, wiping some sweat away from his face as the overwhelming pressure that hung in the air dissipated. He could not believe that the kid had generated so much power that it even affected him, an ANBU level ninja. Sparing a glance at the dead Chuunin; the masked person sighed and started roof hopping toward the Hokage monument, seemingly a blur of motion to the naked eye.

He looked at the small blond in his arms with his brows furrowed in worry underneath his mask; '_Minato-sensei, I failed you again_' the man thought as he roof hopped with high leaping motions to get to his destination.

One thing was for certain for the masked black op, things were going to get even harder for the blond he had slung over his shoulder.

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**(Unknown Location)**

His single visible black eye opened as the door to his room swung open and in entered a new presence clad in a black cloak with an ANBU mask over the face.

The presence was knelt down in front of the man who sat on a large throne like chair respectfully as a subordinate should.

"Report, Hinoe" the man who sat on the throne demanded in a very emotionless commanding voice. He had shaggy black hair, black eyes although his right eye was concealed by the bandage that was wrapped around half of his head, and he had an x shaped scar on his chin. He was clad in a white shirt with a baggy black robe over it that went all the way to his feet, and his right arm was concealed underneath his robe, however it appeared as if it was held in a sling underneath the robe. As he sat there his gaze boring into that of the masked man before him, the level of cunningness the man radiated was without an equal with a sense of paranoia to it.

"The civilians and Chuunin attacked the target as planned thanks to the Genjutsu you placed over them to control them. The boy did indeed channel 'that' power as planned..." the man now identified as 'Hinoe' said in a well-rehearsed robotic monotonous tone that lacked even a shimmer of emotion to it.

Danzo's eye narrowed as his lips twitched upwards in welcome of a small smirk that broke on his face "Is that so? And what did he do with it?" he nodded his head motioning for the other man to continue.

"He seemed to be surprised by it my lord. Although that is not the important issue, what is, is that he was able to reign it in somehow. His eyes were also a strange purple colour. He also killed the Chuunin Mizuki after he attacked him using a repulsive attack of some sort, after that he collapsed from exhaustion and was taken to the Hokage by Hatake Kakashi" the older man stood up, his eye glinting at something else the masked NE had said, completely disregarding the man's other statement about the eyes of their 'target'.

"Excellent, it appears things might start moving my way from now on. I will have to declare the boy a danger to the village at the next council meeting and convince the other council members to hand him over to me to nurture his growth" he paused grabbing his cane before continuing as he began moving towards the exit prompting the other man to follow like a loyal dog "With this incident they will surely see him as a threat to the village's safety" his smirk just grew wider at this, he simply couldn't believe his luck.

All he had done was put the foolish civilians under a Genjutsu and have them attack the blond to coax him into drawing out the power of the Kyuubi in desperation. He had been waiting a while for that to happen now, after so many years he had thought that the isolation and hatred would cause the boy to become unstable but he had held on. Then again he was THAT man's son, but now the fear of death had finally gotten to him and he had lost his will to fight or to repress the darkness within him.

Finally things were going his way and soon he would oust Hiruzen and become Hokage once he got the perfect weapon that he so seeks.

'_This will make them fear the boy, and even that fool Sarutobi will have no choice but to agree with their choice. If not they would simply overrule his decision in the matter but they will need some 'persuasion' _' he mused to himself as he moved in the narrow hallways of the hideout with the cloaked and porcelain-masked Hinoe in tow, his cane creating soft knocks as it hit the floor with each step he took.

"Finally the Kyuubi shall be mine and so will Konoha"

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***Jutsu Translations***

**Shinra Tensei- Almighty Push**


	2. The Mask Comes Off

**Disclaimer: Like I've said before I do not own Naruto, there!**

**This chapter will contain Naruto's first meeting with the Kyubi. Honestly I hope that I didn't do badly in their interaction and conversation. Anyway guys please leave a review and any suggestion if you have one**.

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**Chapter 1: The Mask Comes Off**

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**Konohagakure no Sato, Medical Centre)**

'_I never thought it would get to this...that Konoha would go this far._' Sarutobi thought sadly as his dark eyes stared worryingly at the blond boy who lay asleep entangled with white sheets and numerous of those blood transfusion trips on one of the two beds in the large room they were in.

The whiteness of the room displayed the obvious notion that they were in a hospital room, the walls were painted a majestic creamy white colour, draped with similarly white curtains. The wind blew through the serene white curtains softly, brushing away a few strands of hair onto the blonde's whiskered face. A peaceful expression was on his face, almost as if he wasn't the same person who had endured incredible torture the previous night, both physically and emotionally.

The place reeked of a strong smell of clean disinfectants and a combination of other smells which weren't so pleasant. Overall the place wasn't something any one was a frequent visitor of, not by choice anyway. Most people treated it like the plague, for some because it reminded them of someone or something very dear they had lost while for some it was merely because of bad experiences with the place.

One of those people was Naruto of course; the young blond always had a healthy dislike for hospitals but that could be because he was treated like a disease instead of a patient whenever he came to one in the village. Sarutobi gazed at Naruto, noting the boy's unblemished features; the blood that had stained his outfit and his face had all but been washed off his form.

The way the sun streamed in lit up the white-painted room of the hospital, reflecting on the young blonde's face and reminding the old Hokage of someone whose face haunted him every night for the last eight years. It was a heartfelt scene and the old Hokage couldn't help the feelings of regret and guilt that came as he gazed at the boy he saw as his Grandson. The blond stirred for a second before with a low-groan, rippled light purple eyes fluttered open, announcing the re-awakening of the blond from his slumber.

The whites of the blonde's eyes had all but vanished and in their stead were a light purple sclera, circular rings spread from the centre and covered the entirety of the eyes. he had a small pupil in the center of the eye.

Naruto blinked his eyes a few times to get rid of the grogginess and looked around the room and was met with the sight of one of the few people in the village who didn't treat him like a monster. A colourful blue shroud covered him and it circulated calmly within him and the blond nearly smiled upon seeing the man, but forced himself not to. Still getting used to the strange ability of seeing the shroud that circulated within people and plants, the blond had come to the conclusion that it was Chakra but how he could see it he had no clue.

Upon seeing the sight of Naruto's eyes Sarutobi fought back a gasp of shock, he hadn't seen Naruto's eyes when Kakashi brought him to his office the previous night as the boy was unconscious but now that he was seeing them, he couldn't take his gaze off them, after all these was…these were those eyes.

The eyes of legend, the mythical eyes of the Rikudou Sennin and believed to grant the user god-like abilities and attributes. The eyes of Samsara; the Rinnegan.

He had to stop himself from immediately bombarding Naruto with questions about what happened to his eyes, but rationalized that the boy could prove to be just as confused as he is. He could only wonder how Naruto could have such eyes, seeing as both his parents had no particular bloodline to speak of. How Naruto had something that even the Uchiha and the Senju clan members couldn't have escaped him and what did it all mean?

Could he be the Sage reincarnate? Or something else entirely terrifying? Despite the horrendous treatment he was subject to, Naruto never lost his will nor the goodness in his heart but how long would it be before his fragile young mind was shattered and he lost his perfect heart. Not long if you consider what happened the previous night. He knew that Naruto wasn't a vengeful child, well except with pranks, but he often wondered how much more could Naruto's fragile mind take before the blond snapped. His encouraging and soothing words always brought Naruto comfort, but at the end of the day, Naruto still lived alone and during that time, his loneliness would haunt him and he might just be tempted by the Kyubi. The seal had weakened the previous night and he would have to get Jiraiya to re-enforce it since he didn't wish to temper with the Hakke no Fuin Shiki.

He certainly hoped that wasn't the case but then at the same time he wondered what extreme emotions could the blond had experienced to awaken the Rinnegan because there was no mistaking it, that design fit the old age description of the mythical eyes held in the fire temple.

Snapping himself out of his self-endured state of shock as he realized he was staring, he moved closer to the blond.

"It would be better if you did not try to speak for now Naruto-kun; you gave me quite the scare last night, how do you feel my boy?" he gazed at the young blond, smiling warmly at him as he had always done ever since the boy could learn to speak.

Naruto squinted his eyes, and closed them shut. He felt as the warm feeling in his eyes stop flowing and when he opened them again, he no longer could see the silhouette of Chakra surrounding the aged Hokage.

Naruto frowned and remained quiet as he pondered the question the old man had asked. His expression was impassive however there was a hint of hurt on his face. His gaze was absently staring at the white walls of his room. After a minute when it seemed the boy wasn't going to speak Sarutobi opened his mouth to speak only to be cut off when the young blonde's lips moved, "When…when were you going to tell me…that I'm a demon?"

The Hokage's eyes widened, before he sighed bringing his hand to rub his forehead as he contemplated whether to answer the question truthfully or not. He knew he simply couldn't lie anymore. He had known that eventually this day would come when he would eventually have to disclose about Naruto's tenant but part of him had hoped it wouldn't come this soon. Naruto was just fine oblivious as he was for the time being, god knows the boy deserved a normal life more than anyone he knew. "I am sorry Naruto-kun, but I simply couldn't for your protection. I was going to tell you eventually but once you were grown enough to understand"

"But why did the Yon…. why did he do this to me, wasn't there another way?"

The old Hokage noted the pause in the blonde's speech with a sad frown "I am afraid not; you see Bijuu cannot be killed because they are made out of purely Chakra. The only way to stop them is to seal them, and most unfortunately it is in most circumstances within a Human infant" he could see the hurt still lingering within the blonde's heart but he hoped the young blond would understand his deceased successor's reasons.

"So I guess I was just born on the wrong night huh?" the blonde murmured quietly, clenching at his bandaged navel tightly with his hand, drawing a small line of blood.

Although it wasn't true, the Sandaime couldn't help but nod in agreement "Do you hate him Naruto-kun, do you hate the Yondaime for sealing the Kyubi into you?" he watched as various emotions played on the boy's face, but anger was the most clear one.

Naruto's brows furrowed lightly in a frown as he answered, "I…I'm not sure I hate him, but he isn't my favourite person either. I don't understand why he picked me out of all the children in the village. The fact that he picked me meant my parents probably didn't care about me either, but complaining wouldn't change anything would it?" the question at the end of the statement was rhetoric but Sarutobi found himself nodding in agreement.

"Well at least understand Naruto-kun that he chose you because you are special and because you were the only child who could hold the Chakra of the demon. He did not plan for this to happen. He wished for you to be seen as a hero for your sacrifice but the people ignored his wish." The elder man said trying to reassure the younger boy while carefully avoiding the comment made about his 'parents'.

"I understand perfectly. Hokage have to make sacrifices but he had **no right to do what he did to me, because of him I'm seen as a monster and I will never be accepted in the village.**" Naruto took calming breaths as he realized he was gripping the sheets tightly with his hands as he felt red-hot anger boiling within him. His form was quivering and he could feel the Kyubi's chakra bubbling just under the surface waiting for him to pull on it but he would not be tempted a second time, "What's gonna happen to me now, I…killed a ninja of the village didn't I?" the young blond asked quietly in a low tone while biting down on his lip, his gaze still focused on the walls above him.

The older man was left somewhat flabbergasted by the statement, it wasn't really at the statement so much but at the maturity he could pick up from the blond. Was Naruto always this way or did he truly not know the boy like he thought he did? Snapping himself back to reality he spoke with his usual firm voice, "Nothing will happen to you Naruto-kun, I promise." the older man said re-assuredly, but he could see that the young boy was not as optimistic as he was.

Naruto simply remained silent at that, how many promises had the Hokage made that hadn't turned true at all, he had promised the people would understand him with time and would no longer glare at him and ignore him; had promised he would have friends once he went to school; however that was a lie. All he had received was even more persecution and even more isolated before, he felt even lonelier at the academy than he did alone in his Rundown apartment. He had had enough of the empty promises; they had cost him his innocence, had made him hopeful only for his wishes and hopes to be brutally crushed once reality shone down the next day.

Sarutobi was having his own dilemma as well, seeing the normally boisterous blond looking so dull broke Hiruzen's heart. Normally the boy would always bounce back from the glares and the harsh treatment like it did not faze him and still declare loudly that he would be Hokage and they would finally respect him and see him as a person. It was always about respect, Naruto craved it more than anything besides acknowledgement and his lack of contact with it and the way the people treated him was one of the reasons the boy didn't know how to return it either.

Grabbing the boy's shoulder, the Sandaime offered a sincere smile for the boy as he looked at him with those rippled-purple eyes, "It is going to be fine Naruto-kun, now you just rest up. You lost quite a lot of Chakra and blood yesterday in your skirmish with Mizuki and the mob." the younger blond nodded causing the Hokage to smile wider before turning and heading for the door. Stopping just before he exited, he glanced at the boy over the corner of his eye, "Do you still wish to be Hokage Naruto-kun?"

"I'm not sure, part of me still does but another part of me doesn't want to be one any longer. Why should I protect and even die for people who can't stand the sight of me?" Naruto kept his gaze on the sheets below him as he answered, he didn't even know what it was he wanted any more, but one thing he knew he did want was to be treated like a normal person and that was something he could never get here in Konoha.

"I thought so myself, however I understand. Now rest up, I will come by later to see you." the old Kage offered a sad smile as he exited the room, now to deal with the troublesome council. He would discuss the change involving Naruto's eyes with him later on, for now he would let him rest and regain his bearings. He could see he was still angry, at him.

* * *

Once the Hokage had left Naruto had been left to his thoughts, his line of thought had taken the direction of something he had planned to do for a while. Leaving the village, he had planned to run away from the village for months now however his heart kept telling him Konoha was his home but home was where the heart is as they say and Naruto's heart was definitely not at Konoha for obvious reasons.

Naruto like the innocent child he was often longed for a place where he would be treated with at least some measure of civility, somewhere he could start anew because where he was now all he felt was hatred. It was one of the reasons he usually wondered what other villages were out there, and would they treat him the same way as Konoha. But if they didn't know about his condition they wouldn't right? Or would they?

As the memories of his time in Konoha hit him again, all of the times of when he got kicked out of stores, sold rotten food at unreasonable prices and finally the beating from last night. He couldn't help but feel his emotions stir once more, loneliness, sadness followed by anger and deep hatred for the villagers.

**(Mindscape)**

Sometimes, on rare occasions he just wished they could burn in hell while he watched them suffer like he did, to hear them scream as the Kyubi tore them apart for real. Snapping himself out of his dark thoughts with a sigh, he realized that he was no longer in the hospital room, his line of thought had caused him to unconsciously draw on that strange Chakra again and now he was in what appeared to be a sewer with small pathways and numerous pipes that ran above the ceiling.

'_A sewer_?' He stood up briskly, looking at one of the pipes which seemed to be leaking some foul red substance. The blonde's senses could pick up a strange feeling of familiarity coming from the red liquid which seemed to corrode the floor whenever it came into contact with it. But strangely enough when he blinked the ground seemed to repair itself almost as if he could will it to. He looked down and found himself staring down at ankle-deep water, and a small sense of panic and dread etched into his heart.

Steeling his resolve, he began moving toward the direction most of the pipes and corridor seemed to all lead in the darkened passageways, it was eerily quiet the only noise coming from the irritating drips of water from the largest pipe in the room. With every step he took he could feel the malicious aura that he had felt when he had been attacked by the civilians, the one he had felt coursing through his veins, increasing rapidly. Turning around a corner he came upon the largest room in the strange place so far, before him stood an enormous metal gate, taller than any gate he had ever seen, with a Kanji for 'seal' atop it. Darkness permeated behind the cage like some sort of black hole, it stretched on for what the blond could only assume was miles.

It was quiet but Naruto got a strange feeling that he was not alone, and he was proven right when two large red orbs flew open from behind the gargantuan metal gates, making him stumble back in shock. He could see as something parted and sharp toothy objects seemed to grin at him menacingly. The blonde's eyes widened and he took a scrambling step back as he could see them glinting evilly, and his eyes picked up an enormous darkened silhouette descending toward him.

Every part of his body screamed for him to run but his curiosity got the best of him, subconsciously channelling Chakra to his eyes, he could make out a very thick red silhouette of Chakra. Its chakra was so dense and immeasurable and it made the blond feel extremely uneasy.

The descending figure stopped moving and Naruto was greeted to the sight of two slitted crimson red eyes which bored at him like an insignificant ant, making him freeze slightly before he was hit by an intense aura of malice that whatever monstrosity behind the gate radiated. In that moment Naruto knew that whatever was behind the gate wasn't human and that it hadn't very pleasant intentions. Its mouth was wide open in a menacing toothy grin.

Definitely a terrifying sight…

A large clawed hand slammed hand against the metal bars of the gate causing the young blond to jump away, however he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that they could not reach him, the hand stroked the metal bars before Naruto finally had a good look of what was behind them. Its reddish-orange form towered over his significantly; its upper body was humanoid like. It was a sight he had briefly only seen once in a picture inside the Hokage tower.

The Kyubi no Yoko…

"**Finally my host graces me with his presence.**" The enormous construct huffed out as it stared dispassionately at its host with its slitted red eyes. It moved its head closer to the bars, baring its terrifying fangs at the blond to increase the effect of its intimidation.

"Are…are you…the Kyubi?" Naruto's voice trembled slightly as he tried to keep a straight face while staring at the mighty beast in front of him. He took a deep breath to compose himself as he felt nervous under the intense scrutinizing stare of the being behind the tall gate.

"**Yes I am the greatest of all the Bijuu but that distasteful term is only a reference to my tails conjured by you foolish mortals.**" The humanoid-like fox bellowed loudly, glaring intensely at the blond and increasing the intimidating sight further.

"Oh, then what is your real name?" the blond asked curiously.

"**That you shall never learn Ningen, assuming you live long enough for me to deem you worthy of telling." **

Naruto's eyes flickered about as he took in the appearance of the place, "What is this place and how did I get here?"

"**Foolish Ningen, this waste of space is your mind or part of your consciousness. A manifestation as a result of the seal placed on you by the Yondaime Hokage when he sealed me into you**" the Kyubi was surprised the boy didn't seem surprised at that or even react in a way he normally would have. Rather the boy's facial expression was stoical.

"I've already figured that out, I saw you that time when I…killed that Chunin guy." Naruto said as his gaze fell from that of the Kyubi to gaze guiltily at his own reflection on the Ankle-deep water beneath him, noting with a somewhat surprised expression how his eyes now looked, "At first you were trying to help me? And then You began screaming and trying to kill me, why?" the Kyubi grunted in annoyance as its eyes picked up on Naruto's gaze and saw how it lingered on the look of his new eyes.

Of course he had been extremely angry when Naruto had awakened 'those' eyes and managed to suppress his Chakra. It had been the opportune moment to take advantage of the boy's weakened mental stability back then but somehow fate had other ideas. With another loud growl of iritation, the Bijuu decided to ignore the question and glared at Naruto with an intense stare, "**What exactly is it you seek Ningen?** **Is it my Chakra?** **Speak my patience with you is wearing thin.**"

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath of air and the enormous being before him braced itself for what was to come out of the Human's miniscule mind, "No, uhh I need your help. I need you to help me…escape from the village." Naruto said as he opened his eyes to stare seriously at the mighty beast.

Silence followed that statement before it was broken by the Kyubi's booming laughter, "**And just what makes you think I will help an impudent mortal like you**, **you are the reason that I don't have my freedom any**-" The Bijuu was cut off from proceeding any further by Naruto who stalked glared at it with an intense stare of his own.

"And you are the reason for all the hatred I have ever received my whole life. You owe me for living inside of me and it's time to pay up." Naruto fired back with equal fire, his red-hot stubbornness returning tenfold as he forgot he was speaking to the Kyubi.

"**I OWE YOU NOTHING HUMAN AND** **DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME IN SUCH A MANNER FOOL." **The Kyuubi's form seemed to grow a few inches taller as it bared it's massive teeth at Naruto who flinced at it's harsh, threatening voice, "**Being sealed into a weak, pathetic child was the last thing wanted." **The Bijuu continued after regaining some measure of calm,** "You humans are all the same, always looking for something to blame when everything does not go your way. You are just like those foolish citizens of Konoha.**"

Naruto's eyes widened at that statement. He realised the Bijuu was right, he was acting like the people of Konoha did toward him. He was being exactly like them, blaming the Kyubi for his misfortunes. But then if he couldn't blame Kyubi then who could he blame, the Yondaime? Well he was dead and if he could bring him back to life just to rip him a new one, then he would.

"**You are the one who killed that foolish Ningen."** The Kyubi finished as it sent a glare toward the blond, the boy was beginning to test his patience and he was a little surprised himself they had talked this long so far and he still hadn't dismissed the blond.

Naruto's averted his gaze ashamedly, "I'm sorry, I…just hate this." he said softly with clenched fists, the end of his statement coming out barely above a whisper, however the Kyubi picked it up without any trouble.

The old fox let out another huff of exasperation, "**I do not share your foolish sentiments, nor will I accept them"**

The blond nodded his head, "So do you know what happened last night, why I killed that guy?"

"**That is because you drew in too much of my Chakra than you could handle**** and although you may not have wanted to kill the Ningen, you felt you had to. It wasn't my influence you were under but that of another 'source'." **That statement was slightly disturbing but Naruto did not invest too much attention into it, passing it off in favor of letting the Bijuu continue, "**Those eyes of yours have great power but they also evoke feelings of justice in their wielder. After awakening them you are never the same, unlike the Mangekyo Sharingan dojutsu of those accursed Uchiha which makes them lose their eyesight along with their sanity, your sense of what is and what isn't right is augmented and your personality changes slightly when you awaken those eyes of 'yours'." **There was a slight begrudging tone to the Bijuu's voice as it made reference to Naruto's Rinnegan.

"Dojutsu? What are they?" Naruto snapped up as he asked an obviously confused expression on his face as it was scrunched up in thought.

The old Bijuu sighed gruffly for the first time that day. For some reason the Bijuu felt that was something he was going to be doing often these days, "**They are eyes that are unique to only the Hyuga and Uchiha clans in Konoha; they are passed down from Human to Human as bloodline traits.**"

"Wait, if they are bloodlines as you say, then these eyes that I have, did my….my…." The Kyubi nodded knowing what the blond wanted to ask.

Closing its eyes the gigantic being let out a huff of air which ruffled Naruto's form in the form of a warm breeze, "**No they did not; your mother did not have the Rinnegan although she was from the Uzumaki clan of Uzushiogakure whom are descended from the sage himself while your father was not from a clan at all.**"

Naruto's eyes lit up at that, so his mother was from a clan then maybe when he left Konoha he could find them, however all his hopes were dashed when the Kyubi continued, "**And the Uzumaki were all wiped out after the second Shinobi war by Kiri, Kumo and Iwagakure when they joined to attack the village, so do not get your hopes up Ningen**"

Naruto's shoulders sagged a little at that statement before he raised his head up again to look at the Kyubi, "Then did you know my parents? And how come I have these eyes, Renegan or something? I don't understand" The blond looked hopefully at the towering figure of his tenant. No matter how much he forced himself to believe he had gotten over his want to know of his parents, part of him still wished to know his origins.

"**It is Rinnegan and I don't understand how you have them as well because as far as I know those eyes are not passed down like a bloodline trait and were only unique to the Rikudou Sennin because of special circumstances involving his mother. However I can only guess you are his reincarnation which disturbs me a lot because no Ningen can ever emulate him. As for your parents they were not my favourite people and I despise them, however you can ask the old Monkey, he knows who they are**"

Naruto's eyes went downcast at hearing that, yet another secret kept from by his Jiji and this one truly made him feel bitter. Even if the man didn't want to tell him about his parents, he could've at least told him what they were like, settling to put off those thoughts for now, he gazed up at the Bijuu before him, "Who is this Rikudou Sennin anyway?" the Kyubi stared at the blond wondering whether he should even bother telling the boy.

In the end with another huff of breath the Bijuu began, "**He was the first Ningen to become a Shinobi yet not technically like the corrupted type of this generation. He created Ninshuu, and he was the one who taught people how to use Chakra in hopes that it will unite them and bring them closer. I respect him greatly, however even I can recognise how naïve he had been and his Naivety seems to run deep, even in some of his descendants.**" With that statement the Kyuubi levelled a gaze at Naruto as if to emphasise its point.

"So he was the first person to use Chakra and taught other people how to?" Naruto stared at the mighty beast with an inquisitive look on his face. He himself was surprised with how he wanted to know more about this 'Sage of six paths'.

"**Yes in a way he is the creator of the Shinobi world. However he had intended his teachings to create understanding between you Ningen, but humans being the greedy and selfish evil creatures that they are used his teachings to capture us Bijuu to be used as weapons and create a more destructive version of his Ninshuu, Ninjutsu. The techniques that you see every day and use to enslave us and against one another instead of helping of harnessing their great power to heal, and your kind has the gall to consider mine evil. So very few ever follow his teachings, mostly the priestesses of demon country and the various bald-headed Ningen who like to meditate.**" The Kyubi said with a seemingly disinterested huff.

After releasing a heavy sigh the young blond decided to get back on topic as he felt they were breaking off now "I don't even understand some of that stuff but will you help me now, I need to leave this village before I lose it"

The Kyubi remained silent at that, staring at Naruto with a piercing stare and making him shift uncomfortably.

"So can I count on you to help me? Even if we will never be the best of friends, you and I only have each other right now." Naruto didn't know what had possessed him to say that but he had felt that it was the right thing to say. But he knew that it was indeed true, he only had the Kyubi to depend on right now for this.

The Kyubi still remained silent after the statement, as if contemplating the young blonde's words, so far two of his previous hosts had never talked to him directly or under the best circumstances during the time he was sealed in them and even in those few times they always expressed how tainted and evil his Chakra was. This boy here didn't express such thoughts and although indirectly he could be counted as the cause for the boy's harsh childhood, it seemed Naruto wasn't going to use that as an excuse anymore and had even used the word 'friend' when referring to their situation.

A word so foreign to him he had only encountered it once in his millennia long existence. In a way he was the same as Naruto, disliked by their kind and the whole Human race but its situation could merely be out of its arrogance and it's looking down on its brethren. So what was the boy thinking? That they could somehow in the long run become 'Buddies'?

Unlike its eight tailed sibling, Kyuubi was not hyped about making friends with its hosts and beside that its experience with its Jinchuriki was an unpleasant one. It instead preferred the quiet and besides the Kyuubi believed humans were far too untrustworthy and vile to consider befriending but why did it get the feeling that this Ningen standing before it was something different.

Was it because of his unyielding will that seemed to resemble and even somehow surpass its creator's? A notion the immortal being thought impossible in all the millennia it had been in existence. Naruto, while not directly a descendant of the man who had created the nine Bijuu as the Uchiha and the Senju were, Naruto possessed many traits that the sage had that some of the founding clan members did not have. His strong will, potent chakra that was strong enough to supress his without actually being a bloodline like that forest loving freak Hashirama Senju's Mokuton or that of the Sharingan, and his other noticeable trait was the Rinnegan of course. His kindness, forgiving and pure heart was the trait the Bijuu respected greatly of its container but it knew one day he would fall to the greed of Humanity like all others before him. But could it put away its differences with the blond and help him?

Letting out a grunt and giving a brief nod of agreement the old Bijuu spoke, "**Very well then, I shall help you but do not formulate any ideas Ningen and do not assume we are friends either, I still want to rip you to shreds and devour you after all.**"

The blond nodded his head in agreement, a brief smile flashing across his lips as he spoke, "I understand Kyubi-san." He said in a very formal tone for the first time that night causing the eyebrow of the Kyubi to raise slightly at being addressed formally, however Naruto couldn't understand whether that was at him addressing the monolithic being formally or at simply not making too much fuss about the fox's not so subtle threats to tear him to shreds.

Looking at the water below his ankles, which strangely he could not feel, he got a good look of his eyes for only the second time, but this time noticing how his eyes nearly glowed as he lifted his face to stare seriously at the Kyubi, "Okay now let's do this"

* * *

**(Council Chambers)**

Various incoherent murmurs could be heard coming from the room as the members of Konoha's council shuffled in their seats as they assembled to discuss the solution to their 'new' problem and the events that transpired the day before. All the council members quieted down as Sarutobi entered, the elders Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu in tow.

Taking their respective seats, the old Hokage motioned for everyone to settle down before the meeting began.

The Shinobi and clan section of the council were all settled calmly. There was the Yamanaka clan leader Inoichi, on his right sat the Nara clan representative Shikaku and next to him was the Akimichi clan representative Choza, the three were the former teammates and the members of the first generation Ino-chika-cho as many had taken to calling them for their brave efforts in the third Shinobi war.

The Uchiha clan seat was of course empty, but next to it sat Hyuga clan leader Hiashi, and on his left Inuzuka Tsume while on his left sat Shibi Aburame of the Aburame clan. The rest of the gathered members were all civilians who held significant power in the village and they all appeared unsettled.

Clearing his throat he spoke in a serious voice that demanded the attention of all in the room, "I gather you all know why you have been called here?" Receiving several nods of agreement from the people in the room he continued, "We are all here because of the incident that took place yesterday in which an assassination attempt was made on Uzumaki Naruto's life by a group of civilians-"

An impetuous civilian interrupted, "Hokage-sama, I suggest we have the boy executed." A civilian council member all but demanded, earning several nods of agreement from other civilian members.

Sarutobi narrowed his eye at the woman dangerously, "I never gave you permission to speak civilian, and for what reason should I have Naruto-kun executed?" he asked staring blankly at the woman with his still narrowed eyes piercing through her form.

"W-we all saw what he did, that little de-boy killed that poor Chunin whom if it wasn't for his intervention we would all be killed and furthermore he nearly turned into the Kyubi right before our very eyes. The boy is a walking time bomb." The woman finished once more garnering nods and murmurs of agreement from her faction.

"Although you may see the boy as dangerous, so far before the events of the previous day he has never done anything to warrant execution. I do not agree with your view Hageru-san. The boy may simply have been at his moment of weakness." Homura argued while rubbing at his beard in thought. Of course he had nothing against Naruto, in fact he liked the boy but often he found himself caught up between a rock and a hard place because of his place in the council.

"Yes I agree with elder Homura. He is still just an innocent pup. All of this scrutiny will break him and I don't want to think what would happen if that ever happened." Tsume said as she looked at everyone in the room with a calm stare.

"That thing is the incarnation of evil, it is not innocent. It killed someone and for that it should be punished with its life as well."

"That is rather foolish, more so because the Chunin broke the law Hokage-sama set up. So in this case Mizuki's death was imminent for breaking the law and speaking of Naruto-san's status in public. His death at the hands of Naruto-kun should not be up for discussion really." Shibi said in his usual monotonous voice, lifting up his glasses slightly as he spoke.

"I agree with Aburame-dono, this meeting so far has been a waste of time. Clearly Uzumaki-san is not at fault here." Hiashi voiced his opinion all the while retaining his impassive posture.

Seeing things shaping up in the manner he had hoped to, Danzo abruptly stood up. Staring at all the council members in the room with a levelling stare and drawing all the attention toward him.

Those who knew him well could predict what he was going to say, "Yes, I agree with Hageru-san, the boy clearly is unstable. However rather than have him executed, i propose he be handed over to my care. He is still the village's Jinchuuriki and will ensure he is safe and that he's a great asset to Konoha that will serve the village greatly." several heads from the civilian faction and those of the elders nodded in agreement.

"Serve Konoha? I think we all know you enough to know what your motive really is Danzo." Shikaku snorted at the elder man who had now returned to his seat with an annoyed grunt.

"Yes and that is the betterment of Konoha, for that I suggest a vote. For those who are in favour of handing the boy to me and for those against to raise their hands at their respective turns." the old warmonger suggested causing several of the Shinobi council members to frown at his response to the Nara.

Danzo simply suppressed a grin as he saw Koharu nod in agreement along with the other members from the civilian faction. Yes, everything was going his way so far.

"Yes I also second that, under the tutelage of Danzo he will be kept far from the village and the people can rest easy. What do you think Hokage-sama?" Koharu asked the man who had remained silent for quite some time now after his response to the civilian council member.

Sarutobi stood up from his chair and slammed his hands on the table, making the other occupants flinch in fear before suddenly the pressure in the room increased tenfold as everyone were struck by a terrifying murderous aura that weighed down on them. Many of the civilian council members' eyes widened in terror as the Hokage levelled all of them with a firm stare. Even the members of the Shinobi council found themselves sweating a bit at the Hokage's Killing Intent. The only one who didn't seem fazed was Danzo however the man could simply have hidden it well under his impassive mask.

"No he will not be executed nor will he be handed to Danzo for any matter. I have realised that I have been far too soft on you all, what happened yesterday, Naruto will not be at fault for. The Chunin who was killed had attacked Naruto-kun and you all claim the boy was going to attack you if he hadn't interfered, but what would call for Naruto to kill you. So far the poor boy hasn't attacked anyone and yet you all tried to kill him. Well, you all know the consequences for revealing the boy's secret to other's his age but now you try to blatantly assasinate him?! All those who were involved in the attack on young Naruto will be immediately turned in to Ibiki for interrogation and later executed" the Hokage's expression was firm and his eyes hardened in a glare as he levelled them all with a dangerous glare.

The statement drew several gasps from the crowd mostly from the civilian side of the council before one man stood up pointing his figure at the Hokage "Hokage-sama but you can't do that, the demon child is at fault here. He drew on the Kyubi's chakra and he is the one who should be executed not those innocent people"

"SILENCE! You will not refer to Naruto as the demon, understood? And further more do you disrespect the sacrifice of the Yondaime so much that you would execute his only son?" several heads snapped up in surprise at that revelation. However the Hokage didn't even seem to notice their surprise as his facial expression was set in a disappointed frown "This village has truly fell from grace, if Naruto was as evil as you say he is then you would not be standing here blabbering nonsensical obscenities. If he was the demon you say he is, how brave are the civilians of this village to attack him then? Their attacks on the boy only proves that they know that the boy isn't the Kyubi but simply dismiss it or otherwise they wouldn't even get close to him"

Danzo's eye narrowed as the Hokage continued his monologue. He knew this would surely ruin his chances of claiming the Jinchuriki. It was an ingenious strategy by Hiruzen of course and it sickened him how he was trying to outwit him yet again.

"Do you think the Yondaime would pick any random child to make into a Jinchuriki? No, that is because he simply did not want to ask a family to sacrifice their child. He cared too much for this village to put such a great burden on someone else's child when even he could not make such a sacrifice. His wife Kushina Uzumaki, the previous Kyubi Jinchuriki even went so far as to offer to have the Kyubi sealed back into her even though she would die in the process and the Kyubi will return someday. Can you imagine her pain knowing that not only will her son become a Jinchuriki but will also be alone to bear your hatred without any parents to help him? Because unlike Minato she knew the harsh life and treatment all Jinchuriki were dealt. It appears that perhaps their sacrifices for this village were for nothing, this village does not deserve those two, Konoha has shamed the legacies of my past predecessors and successor."

They all became solemn at that, even the clans' representatives had their heads bowed down and hanging in shame because they unlike the civilian faction knew of the blonde's heritage and understood his situation yet they also warded their children away from him and told them to avoid the boy. Some of the civilian council members' mouths were slightly aghast in shock and denial was written on their faces, but none paid them any heed.

The silence was broken when a member of the civilian council spoke' it was an aged man who owned several weapons' stores in Konoha; his daughter was a student in the academy named Tenten. The man's voice was solemn and somewhat subdued as he spoke out "Where is Naruto-sama now Hokage-sama? He deserves all our thanks I believe for all the bad and unpleasant acts we have committed against him, I for one Have never had a problem with Uzu-Namikaze-sama however it still doesn't make any difference since just watching him suffer is just as bad as making him suffer since we didn't acknowledge him and in turn he couldn't distinguish between the people who had a problem with him and those who did not"

Hiruzen opened his mouth to speak but whatever he was going to say was interrupted when an ANBU burst through the doors slightly winded and out of breath as if they had just ran a marathon between Konoha and Suna. Fixing a stare at the feminine masked figure who had assumed a crouching position as they began to regain their bearings the Hokage asked, ''What is the matter Neko-san?" he asked as he kept his gaze firmly on the female ANBU.

"Forgive me for interrupting what must be an important meeting Hokage-sama and honourable council members" all the other occupants in the room nodded in understanding knowing that ANBU never did things without reason for that matter.

Danzo remained emotionless as he waited for the purple headed ANBU to continue. So far his plans had not worked out well, and with Sarutobi's revelation of the Kyubi Jinchuriki's heritage it will now be nigh impossible for him to convince everyone to hand Naruto over to his 'care'.

The people will likely dote all over him like a prince now. How foolish! It disgusted him to even think about. The boy was a weapon and needed to be forged and nurtured into one. That was the reason behind Jinchuriki, they were not people but simply objects to use in protection of the village but nobody seemed to see things his way.

"Hokage-sama, I had just returned from my mission when I found a team of Chunin that were on guard duty knocked out in the west sector of the village near the village wall, they say that they were attacked by Naruto and that he fled the village"

The statement had the not so surprising effect on the occupants in the room as they all gasped in disbelief and great shock, the Hokage rubbed at his forehead in distress and before anyone could act he fell on the ground. He could barely hear as they all doted on him as his mind was solely on Naruto and him alone.

The young boy had left the village.

Something he had not thought could happen, he was now venturing into the world, alone and without protection, the boy could be killed by Iwagakure no Sato if they realised he was related to the Yondaime Hokage or he could be captured by another village if they learned he was a Jinchuriki or the existence of his Rinnegan was discovered. How far distraught was the boy that he had decided to leave? Perhaps it was for the best, it would spare him the hatred of Konoha for a while. Maybe one day he could return to become a Shinobi of the village however unlikely that was, but still he would look for him and try to bring him home.

'_Naruto I am so sorry my boy_' the old Hokage thought sadly, his heart was heavily clenched in pain, he had failed Minato, Kushina and most of all he had failed Naruto; he could only hope that the boy wouldn't die. He would have to enlist the help of Jiraiya to track him down.

While the others all were staring at the aged Hokage who had collapsed, Danzo's eyes were firmly focused in the direction of the village wall as if he was searching for something. He honestly wished the fool Hiruzen could just die. The man had denied him his weapon and he would be damned if he let the Jinchuriki escape, nodding his head to one of his ROOT ANBU who was in the room, he snuck out of the chambers carefully amidst the commotion. If he was successful, what he had in mind would ensure that he has his weapon; he would capture the Jinchuriki and foster him without Sarutobi's knowledge before it was finally time for him to reveal him.

Yes that would be perfect, the foolish Kyubi wouldn't escape his grasp, because nothing escaped him.

He was the Shinobi no Yami for a reason.

* * *

**(Villages Outskirts)**

Standing outside the village, Naruto took one last look at the village that had been his home for eight years, home to his pain and suffering. A large backpack was slung securely on his back. He wore a white mesh shirt with a red spiral on its front, black knee-length shorts and blue sandals. His rippled-purple eyes had a troubled glimmer in them and were squinted into slits. His hair was messy as the day he was born and but on the occasion was rather unkempt from a lack of good care.

There were no good memories he could recall of the place except those of few of himself with the Hokage and the Ichiraku, so he knew without a doubt that he had no regrets about leaving the village. He was only slightly sad that he did not say goodbye but knew that would not bode well for him, he knew for a fact that Sarutobi would not want him to leave the village and would stop him from leaving, reminding himself that there could already be Shinobi after hi the young blond took off in a run only to be stopped when a group of people dropped in around him.

There were about a dozen of them in total and they were all clad in ANBU uniform and in front of them all was a man was he had seen on one occasion speaking to his Ojii-san and from that single brief interaction the blond had always had a bad feeling about the man. The man had looked at him in a way that had greatly unnerved and disturbed him on that occasion and even now he still was. He was old, almost as old as the Hokage and taller as well and had an x shaped scar on his chin and strangely enough his right hand wasn't underneath his cloak like usual and was out as if he came prepared to fight.

The blond was starting to get nervous as the men surrounding him all pulled out their Tanto, the processes creating a melodious tone of some kind which was in all kinds dangerous.

As the Cyclops old man's single eye bore into him, Naruto could feel his mind screaming for him to move, to run away from this man for some reason he could not fathom.

His lips moved and in the gruff voice he was known for he spoke "And just where do you think you are going, Kyubi?"

* * *

***Translation***

**Hakke no Fuin Shiki- Eight Triagrams Sealing style**


	3. The ROOT of the problem

**Disclaimer: Yeah so I don't own Naruto, so what?**

* * *

**Chapter 2: The ROOT of the Problem**

* * *

**(Konohagakure, Village Outskirts)**

"And just where do you think you are going, Kyubi?"

Naruto was in panic mode, clear unhindered thought had left him and all he could think about was the pounding of his heart. He had been caught and now he would be taken back to the village, back to that hell hole.

He looked at the man before him who stared him down blankly, his gaze firm and undeterred, as if measuring his worth like a bull about to be bought to do farm work. He got the feeling that this man before him was here for other reasons besides returning him to the village. He took in the appearance of the man before him, the one who had spoken, he was wearing a black robe that covered his right shoulder and went all the way to his feet. His right arm was hidden underneath the Robe almost as if in a cast, and underneath he wore a white long-sleeved gi. The right side of his face was covered in bandages and in his hand was a walking stick.

Naruto felt a cold feeling wash over him as he met the man's stare, somehow he just radiated that feeling that would unnerve and unsettle you every time you would meet his gaze. Naruto unconsciously shook his head as he felt a disruption in his Chakra system, he could see Chakra flowing out of the man's bandaged eye and trying to somehow affecting the flow of his…

'**Be careful Ningen, he is trying to cast a Genjutsu on you'**

'_What should I do then?'_

'**Impotent fool, release a burst of Chakra and purge the Genjutsu from your system'**

'_Hai, thanks again Kyubi'_ there was no answer to his statement but the blond knew the Bijuu had heard him.

A brief wisp of blue circulated Naruto's form, making Danzo frown at his Genjutsu being dispelled by the boy.

'_He broke my mind control Genjutsu…interesting; there might be more to the Kyubi than meets the eye'_

Naruto, having released the Genjutsu looked at the man yet again, meeting his cold stare "C-can I help you?" Naruto asked, it wasn't the smartest thing to say in this context but he was raking his head looking for things he could say, with this statement he at least tried to remain inconspicuous by acting the fool not to raise any suspicion from the man who was obviously a hard-core Shinobi.

The elder man simply kept looking at him with an impassive stare, his unfaltering stare sending a cold feeling brushing through Naruto's back.

"Yes" he responded monotonously, "By coming with me" he said making a gesture to the ANBU with him who all responded by getting into ready positions.

"No you're not taking me back there, I won't go back there. I…I hate that place" Naruto all but growled out in anger at the man who kept his still impassive expression, his act now forgotten as he tapped into his 'old' stubborn air-headed self.

The man was not at all fazed by the young blond who was glaring daggers at him "You don't have to worry about that young Jinchuriki; I will not take you to Konoha, at least not THAT Konoha. If you come with me I promise to train you, give you all that you desire, and in exchange all you have to do is serve me, it is a reasonable offer" Naruto gazed down at the ground at that, silently contemplating the Cyclops' offer. Part of him wanted to take the man on his offer but another part told him it wouldn't bode well for him in the future but still…

Danzo inwardly smirked as he saw the boy contemplating his offer, with his head lowered. Perhaps he wouldn't need to use force to tame the beast after all. He still did not wish to reveal his new trump card yet, not this soon. He waited to see if the boy would be coaxed into side, he knew that the boy's greatest weakness was his emotions but he was also not ignorant toward the fact that emotions also bred unpredictability and undesired ends. As they say sentimentality is synonymous with vulnerability and made one easy to coaxing or cheap persuasion, and he hoped to change that in Naruto but for now he would try to play this game, if he offered the Jinchuriki what he always desired, acknowledgement, there was no way he wouldn't be tempted but if he didn't, then he would make him join him, forcefully.

As Naruto mused on his options he was broken from his thoughts by the loud voice of the Kyubi "**No Ningen, do not accept this old Ningen's offer. I can feel nothing but malicious intentions coming off of him; if you do he will only use you because of me. I can almost smell the way he is looking through you, almost as if he is trying to peer through you into me. It is your choice however, but choose wisely because whatever you do now, there will be no turning back**"

Naruto was surprised and nearly jumped in surprise as the loud voice boomed in his head. However his surprise didn't last long _'Hey a little warning would be nice'_ his statement was met with a huff of exasperation. _'But thanks again…anyway'_ he exclaimed mentally, mentally nodding albeit a bit hesitantly at the Bijuu's advice. Naruto raised his head to look at the man "And if I don't want to accept your offer?"

Danzo simply looked as always but he did shrug his shoulders slightly; "Then I will just have to 'persuade' you Kyubi" that was the second time the man had referred to him as the Kyubi, and it made him a little angry and curious at the same time. He knew he wasn't his tenant, but apparently no one saw past that.

"Why do you keep calling me that, I have a name" Naruto asked as a light frown marred his features. He felt the urge to pummel this old coot right here; however he knew that would not end well for him. Not with all these drones practically radiating hostility in a sense that it made the word meaningless surrounding him.

"To me names don't matter, only our cause. You are a Jinchuriki and a Jinchuriki is defined by their Bijuu and you are the Kyubi that you house, a weapon that can harness the power of the beast if taught properly and is used to serve and protects its village in times of war. That is your cause, the sole reason for your existence" The man said without missing a beat, his unyielding gaze still focused on the blond before him.

Naruto chuckled lightly, however his laugh was lost on his face as it was set in a frown, ""So that is what I am huh, some kind of puppet" his bangs were shadowing his face as he spoke in a low voice "I guess I really will never be seen as a human being for every day I live and breathe but I guess it doesn't matter…**that pathetic village can go burn in hell for all I care**." Raising his head, Danzo's eyes widened lightly as he was met with Blood red rippled eyes. The pupil was slit-like and the blonde's whisker marks had thickened "**Well sorry to disappoint you Old man but you won't be taking me back alive**" the blonde's voice had deepened, his tenant's chakra leaking into his system as he subconsciously drew on it.

Danzo merely frowned at that, he could feel the power bubbling beneath the surface within the boy. Those eyes meant he was drawing on the Kyubi's Chakra. How he could effortlessly do it, he didn't know but assumed it could be because of his emotions. He would have to take care of the Kyubi before Hiruzen or his ANBU could arrive. And with the way things were going, he would have to subdue the boy before the large spike of Chakra alerted everyone to where they were.

Closing his eyes as if in thought he spoke "Very well then" with that, without any command the platoon of ANBU shot off toward Naruto at speeds he struggled to trace.

The first man brought his sword down in a slash to incapacitate the blond who rolled, barely, out the way of the incoming strike. Immediately as he stood up he was met with a rough punch to the face which sent him tumbling a few feet away however he managed to right himself skidding to a stop. Just as his momentum subsided, two hands emerged from the ground, grabbing him by his legs and preventing him from moving out of the way as another Porcelain-masked ANBU proceeded to punch the blond mercilessly. Naruto's cries of pain were paid no heed as the man grabbed him by his throat, and threw him into the hard bark of the tree behind him.

He snapped his head upwards and looked on as more came toward him, he searched his mind for things he could do however he was not afforded any moment of respite as he was roughly kicked in the face, followed by another kick to his mid-section which sent him sailing away due to the force behind the kick.

Coming to another harsh collision with the tree, he stood up slowly, shaking off the grogginess before, without thought, he charged the nearest ANBU with surprising speed. Riding on his instinct he launched a rocketing fist at the man, which the man couldn't block.

Naruto's clawed fist buried itself in the man's face with a harsh and loud impact, simultaneously the man's mask shattered, and his neck twisted and snapped loud enough for Danzo to hear, from the force of the somewhat uneducated yet extremely powerful punch.

The Anbu immediately fell to the ground with unfocused lifeless eyes. Naruto's eyes widened and his body went rigid as his gaze met that of the falling ANBU's only to see a look of disbelief and a terrified expression etched on his wide eyes, almost as if he couldn't believe his own death.

A death at the hands of an academy student...

The man's body hit the hard earth with a hard plop. A guilty expression entered Naruto's eyes as he saw the man's figure unmoving with his neck mangled in a sick display. He gazed at Danzo to see the man seemingly unaffected emotionally by the death of the man.

The adrenaline was still coursing through his body but the blond felt a bit light-headed as he thought of another person he had killed, unlike the first one; this one Naruto witnessed the grim process of their death, saw as all life disappeared from his eyes while he gazed at him with a look of abject horror. The blond came to one conclusion as he looked at the prone figure of the man.

Death was an unpleasant experience and the man had died in the most painful way possible all due to him.

He was so unfocused and lost in his shock that he failed to see the ROOT ANBU creeping behind him before he was in roughly kicked in his back and another ROOT ANBU appeared before him, kneeing him in the stomach, causing him to fall down on one knee, blood escaping from his lips as he descended into a coughing fit.

Another hard kick caught him in the back of his head with a loud impact; causing more globs of blood erupted from his lips furiously.

His eyes were slightly disorientated as his vision swam. Two firm hands snaked across his backs before he was held him by the arms from behind as one of Danzo's minions held him in a tight head lock.

With the blond incapacitated Danzo began walking toward him with calm deliberate footsteps.

The man continued sauntering toward his disabled target, his hand going to the bandage covering his eye which he discarded in one pull, revealing a red-eye with three whirling tomoe in it, swirling in a circle around the pupil as if in some form of twisted excitement.

The Sharingan…

**Mindscape**

From its cage the Kyubi growled deeply.

That accursed eye again…

It had been quiet during Naruto's skirmish with the ANBU, wondering whether it should help the boy or not in his fight or simply let him die so it could have its freedom, however the Kyubi knew that meant it would have to die too. An idea the legendary and immortal Bijuu wasn't all too comfortable with even if he would reform years later. It would wound its pride more than anything else.

'**He is going to try to cast a Genjutsu over the both of us'**

The Bijuu was just about to speak when it felt it. An intense surge of power that was all building up within the blond in preparation for something, clustering and circulating within the blond and threatening to spill over if not released in one massive pulse of destruction. The Chakra output was immense and somewhat unstable and was by all means, terrifying!

Even the legendary Bijuu found itself marvelling at the level of power coming off its container; it had been long since it had felt such a strong Chakra, such great a spiritual presence. It would have not fazed the Bijuu if it was normal human Chakra; however this was simply the power of the Rinnegan. And although Kyubi would never admit it to the boy, he knew this was the power of a god and it was incredible.

The Bijuu closed its crimson coloured eyes in preparation for something breathtakingly incredible.

* * *

**(Konoha Gates)**

"What was that?" a young dark black-haired Chunin, with a white strip cloth across his face and spiky black hair exclaimed from within a small booth as he looked curiously at the direction of the village's outskirts.

The other young man sitting next to him with cards in his hand looked at him with a questioning look "Huh, what are you talking about Kotetsu?"

"You mean you didn't feel it?" The other man this one with dark brown hair, with his head covered in a hitai-ate worn like bandana kept looking at him as if he was crazy, sighing he continued "I could have sworn I felt the ground shake just now"

"Don't be ridiculous man, if the ground was 'shaking' I'm sure i would feel it as well, you're not trying to use this as an opportunity to skip out on your duties and slack off are you?" seeing that the other man was completely serious, he continued "You know that you like to exaggerate things anyway. So I'm sure it's nothing, maybe just a bunch of Genin brats playing with explosive tags"

Sighing he nodded, _'this gate guard duty must be driving me insane'_, "Yeah I guess you're right man"

The other wore a smug expression at that, "Of course I'm always right" he said causing the Kotetsu to glare at him as he laughed lightly.

"Argh, just shut up and play you idiot" Izumo just laughed harder at his friend.

However what the two didn't know was how right the other man had been.

Danzo was literally giddy and glowing with excitement as he calmly walked toward the 'Kyubi'.

After so long, he would have the 'Kyubi' and Sarutobi won't even notice he has him right under his nose the whole time, the man was always ignorant and soft.

_'No, I can't be captured here'_ Naruto thought in worry, still held in the ANBU's steely grip, he felt powerless and that sense of desperation hit him again. That desire for something, anything to help him overloaded his senses and a great burning feeling travelled to his eyes making him squint them in pain.

With each step he took, the closer he got to realising his dream, the closer he got to his peace.

Naruto could feel as that cold feeling swept through his being, welling up inside him, and rising up, this time in greater amounts like some unrestrained tidal wave. His eyes were in pain and he felt as if his head was about to explode. The ground beneath him cracked and small rocks picked up and lifted into the air before falling back down.

Yes now he had his weapon, his imperfect weapon which needed to be sharpened meticulously and turned into a true demon of war, a conqueror of nations. This time nothing would take it away from him. Nothing at all.

The man was so enraptured in his feeling of victory that he felt to notice the small gusts of air blowing debris around the blond. As he finally reached Naruto, Danzo reached with his arm to the boy. However two things happened.

One Naruto's eyes snapped open and then….

All around the forest a blinding white light exploded into existence as without warning, an intense form of gravitational outburst exploded from the young blond like a violent tempest of raging water.

It swept everything away like some force of unequalled proportion, levelling the land and completely obliterating the entire surrounding forest and sending Danzo and his men flying like rockets out of a shuttle.

It continued on for a few seconds, causing intense shudders in the earth that travelled all the way back to the village.

* * *

Sarutobi, having recovered from his shock was in his office on the large tower on the Hokage monument. The elders had dismissed the council in his stead

A large stack of paperwork was sitting on his table untouched. He was standing near the window, his gaze lost as he looked toward the outskirts of the village with a look of concern and worry.

It had been ten minutes since he had sent Kakashi's ANBU squad to scour everywhere in search of Naruto and he was patiently waiting for their return.

He still couldn't believe his favourite blond had decided to leave the village; Naruto was the last person he expected to ever leave the village. The only possible candidate for that place was Sasuke; the boy was psychologically damaged and was obsessed with amassing power to kill his brother. Sometimes the old Hokage wondered why Itachi went to such lengths when in the end it might destroy the boy in the long run, but it was what the young Uchiha had done and it might prove to be his greatest mistake yet.

The countless sleepless nights where the boy couldn't sleep as he trained himself to the brink of exhaustion were proof of that. In a way Naruto leaving the village was understandable, after all who wouldn't trade a place that was hell to them for a place where they could have happiness?

A person like Danzo maybe?

But still that didn't quell the guilt on his consciousness, the fact that he could have given Naruto happiness yet couldn't weighed deeply on his consciousness. Now that Naruto had finally had enough, he realized how much he had failed the boy, he was the Hokage, yet he yielded to the demands of the council who took advantage of his softness and love for the village to make the boy's life miserable. What had he been thinking, that if Naruto went on about his life that they would see him as anything beyond the Kyubi he Contained? That if he worked hard enough he could prove his worth and earn the respect of the people?

He was the one who had imparted those ideals into the boy and now he cursed himself for it.

His heart felt heavy because of that.

He was broken from his musings when he felt an intense spike of Chakra.

Naruto's Chakra.

He focused on it, and his eyes widened when he felt the potency of the Chakra, it put even his to shame and the incredible thing was that it was all Naruto's and he wasn't channeling the Kyubi's Chakra. He briefly wondered why Naruto could be drawing on such potent Chakra; however he didn't have to wonder anymore as a deep force exploded in the outskirts of the village.

He looked on as a large section of the forest and large chunks of debris piled up on top of another were pulsated away by some powerful invisible force, the forest was being swept away like some pile of large dirt.

From a single look, Sarutobi knew that this was another gravity Jutsu Naruto had performed, however the level he had performed it at was terrifying. He knew that if the young blond ever mastered those eyes he could destroy a village with that attack.

Wasting no time and with speed beyond his age, the old Hokage ran out of his office toward his surrogate grandson.

He only hoped he could get there in time, if not for Naruto's safety but for the village's, if one of those attacks was sent in the direction of the village, then…

Well you could guess the result of that.

* * *

A deep crater the size of a compound remained all around, the only place remaining untouched being where the blond had stood.

Silence followed as nothing moved.

Nothing of the forest remained; it was completely wiped out from Konoha, only a bare crater remaining where the lush green and all living things within it once resided.

The serene moment was ended when the young blond responsible for all this coughed out loudly. He was lying in the crater had created, panting harshly. His clothing was tattered in a few places, and some blood dripped down his lips. He looked extremely pale and his eyes were drooping slightly.

Naruto grimaced as he felt an intense stabbing sensation in his chest. Whatever it is he had done there had taken a lot out of him. He found it difficult to speak or move even the smallest parts of his body, all he just wanted to do was go to sleep but he couldn't as he still had to get away before anyone came to investigate what had just happened.

He willed his body to move but it simply refused to obey his orders. After struggling for a few more seconds, he gave up with a resigned sigh and just lay there staring at the large clouds of smoke and dust caused by his attack which floated above him freely. He couldn't believe he had worked so hard to escape and now here he was, undone by his own exhaustion and unwillingly waiting for Konoha to take him back.

Stupid…

He berated himself with a sigh. Any further thought he might have had was cut off when he felt something hot flow down his depleted pathways, filling him with energy yet again.

His eyebrow rose delicately in disbelief as he knew the cause of this, letting himself be drawn into the mindscape, he appeared before the Kyubi, looking at the gargantuan creäture with his very same confused expression " You're helping me, why?"

The Kyubi huffed in a feigned expression of annoyance as it gazed with a look of disinterest at its container, its single eye open, "**Because we had a 'deal', did we not Ningen**?"

"Yeah but the deal was to help me escape from the village, you have already done that, now why this?" he asked his confusion clearly displayed on his face for the giant Bijuu to see.

"**Consider it a gift for taking care of that Sharingan scum, but do not think this makes us anything Ningen. It is simply a one-time thing and as soon as we are far away from here, I will try to take control of you and devour you**" the Kyubi dismissed with a huff, glaring intimidatingly at the tiny blond at the end of its statement..

Naruto sweatdropped, how could anyone switch between being nice and throwing death threats like that? Seriously the Kyubi had large personality disorder issues. Shrugging his shoulders, the blond merely smiled as he responded, "Yeah, I like you better that way anyway" his gaze took on a serious expression, "how long will this last, can it get me far away enough?"

"**Yes, so get moving Ningen. I can feel those snivelling Konoha Ningen coming this way, along with the old monkey**"

"Got it" the blond responded before he shot off with an incredible display of speed. He was a blur to the ordinary eye as he ran like a man possessed.

The blond himself was amazed by how fast he ran, and was what was more incredible was that he wasn't sprinting like the ANBU he often saw in the village but simply running. He couldn't marvel at his skill for long as he had to put on more speed, his feet digging into the ground with every step, and blowing dirt away from the speed he travelled in.

He had done it. He had escaped from Konoha and that was what mattered to him most at this very moment.

And with that Naruto Uzumaki left Konoha without looking back, in pursuit of happiness not knowing of the dangers that lurked waiting for him out there.

* * *

**A short chapter but I'm still trying to develop the story at this stage.**

**I also want to address some few things. Naruto hates Konoha, but it doesn't mean that he will be destroying the village or anything. At some point in the story he will become slightly cold because of some circumstances but he will not be going Obito either.**

**He will not join Akatsuki or another village to spite anyone, seriously I don't like bashing anyone because I'm angry or dislike at the character. That's petty.**

**Anyway remember tomorrow we have another update.**

**So please R&amp;R**


	4. Meeting New Friends and Family

**Disclaimer: Although I would terribly like to, I don't own Naruto…yet.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Meeting New friends** **and family**

* * *

**(Konohagakure, Village Outskirts) **

_'My god….'_ Hatake Kakashi thought in disbelief as he gazed at the reshaped and bare landscape.

His other team member in a squad of five, a woman with purple hair in a cat mask vocalised her thoughts unlike the silver haired ANBU with a shocked "What…happened here?" it sounded more like a question that didn't require an answer but the ANBU Captain still answered.

"I don't know, the only thing I could compare this sort of destruction to is a natural disaster" he said offhandedly however you could tell he wasn't trying to make a joke by the look of his eyes from behind his mask. The others nodded knowing what the man meant by the statement, they themselves were rendered speechless when they saw the condition of the area.

It looked as if it had been swept bare by some hand of a Greek god in a spurt of rage. What had once been a blooming and blossoming lush green forest was now merely a gigantic crater, the rubble that had collected had formed some sort of mountain of rubble in the area. It was so huge they all had no doubts that it was visible all the way back from the village.

Kakashi simply couldn't believe that his sensei's son was capable of doing such a thing; the kid had practically erased the western section forest of the village. Even the Kyubi would whistle proudly at this level of destruction.

The area had literally been turned upside down and it would take several decades without the Shodaime Hokage to restore the area back to what it was, and even with Tenzo's help the man would only manage to restore small portions of the forest since he wasn't as skilled in Mokuton as the original wielder of the bloodline was.

This area of Konoha would remain scarred for some years; it would be a reminder of the young blond village pariah who had left the village his parents had sacrificed their lives and his happiness to protect. He wondered what could seriously have pushed the boy to use such a technique and it made him wonder what more the blond could do if pushed hard enough.

One thing was for certain in the young ANBU's mind, whatever technique was used here; he hoped to never be a victim of such a technique.

He felt a tug on his leg and looked behind to see one of his Ninken Pakkun pulling on his leg. The dog was short in stature, had brown fur and dark brown snout and ears and wore a Konoha forehead protector on one of its legs and some sort of blue scarf around its neck. "You find anything Pakkun?" he asked the short canine which had a lazy look plastered on its somewhat puppy looking face.

Shaking its head in the negative it responded in a very deep and gruff voice, "**No he is long gone by now. Although his trail is still fresh, I doubt we would catch him if we pursued after him. He was travelling extremely fast, too fast for a child and he left traces of the Kyuubi's Chakra**" the silver haired man didn't appear all that surprised by the statement but that could be because he knew the blond haired boy could use the Bijuu's chakra ever since that when he killed night Mizuki.

"In which direction Pakkun?" the silver haired man asked gravely.

The small canine sighed in response, knowing the man might not like the answer "**Any of the coastal areas within Hi no Kuni or possibly leaving the country itself** **I would presume" **the small canine paused as if to recollect its thoughts before continuing** "Considering the speed he was going at he could be out of Hi no Kuni within a week**" it said as it stared directly into the eyes of its summoner who could only narrow his in clear worry.

Although he could not see it, the canine knew the man was frowning intensely from the tense posture he was exuding."Thanks Pakkun, you can go now" the dog only nodded before a puff of smoke later it disappeared.

Kakashi turned to look at the direction in which the blond in question had taken off in with a wistful expression, in deep thought '_This is bad, last I heard that area of the world was embroiled in a war. I only hope someone wards him off from going there'_ turning to look at the sight before him again he sighed '_Hoping is all we can do right now_' he though sadly to himself.

He turned around and scanned the area with his Sharingan; he immediately noted that there was no sign of life in the bare landscape, after all what could possibly survive this sort of destruction. He shook his head to free himself from his thoughts and continued scanning the area around him. After a couple of minutes of looking without finding anything he was just about to give up to conserve his Chakra but something caught his eye that made him halt his current line of thought. He focused on it and his eye widened as he saw a body, No, bodies under the mountainous pile of rock and rubble.

He motioned over to his teammates who followed as they approaching the first body. They all stopped before it and Kakashi looked at it critically and only one thought came to his mind, 'This guy was fucked up pretty badly'. Kakashi could have sworn he heard a cry of 'Such Unyouthful words my rival' at his words in the horizon but he just choked it up to be his imagination or the scene getting to him.

He returned his attention to the body below him. It was unrecognisable; it was twisted in a sickly way and when he prodded it with a foot, it bent in a disturbing manner as if all the bones in it had been turned into milkshake, the force of the technique must have been severe to have done this.

"Taichou, loot at this" one of his squad members, one with short brown hair and almond shaped eyes, wearing a cat mask with red and green markings pointed toward a small white shard lying on the ground.

He looked at where the man was pointing to see a discarded and shattered mask on the ground, picking up a small piece he spoke "This is from an ANBU mask and I know that no ANBU team besides ours was assigned to this Mission, which means…" he crushed the small piece within the palm of his hand "This has Danzo written all over it…"

Tenzo nodded at the man's statement "He must have used the distraction brought by the Hokage's panic attack to seize Naruto secretly for his ROOT operations" Tenzo concluded and their other teammates looked at them in disbelief.

"Is he really that bad Taichou?" the young purple headed woman could not understand how an elder of the village could be so heartless as to attack and try to abduct a child and brave enough as to go against the Hokage without fear of execution. She had heard the man was cold and would do everything, even repulsing acts to ensure that he gets what he want all in the excuse that it would be good for Konoha, but never this.

Kakashi looked at the woman with an eye that showed how serious he was "Trust me Yugao; he is not someone you would want to get involved with. _We_ have had the misfortune of being in league with him and let's just say if not Hokage-sama I would be dead by now"

Kakashi sighed; things had just gotten more complicated and this could ignite the flames of a civil war in Konoha if this matter wasn't handled meticulously. For now the silver-haired Anbu captain just hoped Hokage-sama would take care of the man this time, unlike the time when he had let him off for trying to assassinate him. After all every time the man got involved things spiralled out of control.

It seemed that with every passing day the old War-hawk got impatient, time was after all every ambitious man's enemy and who knew what else the man would do when he finally became desperate enough, certainly something like this albeit on an extremely higher level.

He somehow couldn't believe the man had the gall to do this right under the Hokage's nose. The man had pushed the wrong button this time for give or take he would be executed for his treason, Sarutobi was extremely protective when it came to Naruto after all.

With a sigh Kakashi looked at the rest of his team, "Alright team, let's split up and look for any more clues before we rendezvous back to the village in an hour's time, we need to give a report back to Hokage-sama that the mission was a failure"

"There will be no need for that Kakashi-kun" a new voice interjected. They all turned to look toward where the new voice came from to see the Hokage coming toward them with Raidu Namiashi and Genma Shinranui.

Genma and Raidu's eyes widened to dinner plates proportions when they saw the condition of the area that once was a forest. It looked like desert. Then their jaws hit the floor when they saw the massive mountain of rubble before them. _'T-this is unbelievable, and they say a kid did this? I feel so insignificant as a ninja just looking at this'_ Genma thought, still gaping like a fish.

They were brought out of their shocked state by the voices of Kakashi and his team as they addressed the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama" The silver haired young man and his team uttered out in unison before they all bowed.

Shaking his head the elder man spoke "Please Kakashi-kun, everyone, get up" the Hokage's voice was low and solemn and he looked extremely pale and aged more than he was.

"Did you manage to find him?" he asked the silver haired man who was still bowing despite his statement.

The silver haired man and his team both shook their heads "No Hokage-sama, he was long gone when we got here. Best case scenario, he could still be within Hi no Kuni, and worst, Mizu no Kuni"

Although the aged Kage hid it well, there had been a flicker of worry that had alighted in his eyes as he repressed the urge to sigh wearily "I see. I suppose Naruto-kun is now well out of our grasp. We will return to the village, I shall have Jiraiya look for him" he said softly, his hands entwined and folded behind his back in his favourite calm Hokage posture.

The young man nodded, understanding that Jiraiya had a greater chance of finding the boy as the man was said to be the greatest spy master in the Shinobi world. After a moment of deafening silence the young masked man spoke.

"So he really is gone huh" Kakashi sighed out tiredly as he finally stood up, he knew it wasn't the best thing to say but he just felt better saying it because it was just unbelievable and incomprehensible to think about.

"Yes, I just pray to kami for his safety and for Minato and Kushina to watch over him wherever he may go"

"Yeah, the village will be somewhat quiet without him" Kakashi said as he stared off into the distance.

The old Hokage smiled sadly "Yes it will, indeed it will" Sarutobi said with a melancholic expression on his face.

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi said as his voice took on business like tone, his eyes hardening slightly "The battle that took place here was between Naruto and members of the ROOT faction. We identified a corpse with an ANBU tattoo over by that area under the rubble; I have reason to believe Danzo wanted to abduct Naruto for his ROOT operations without your knowledge and seized the opportunity presented by your panic attack"

The Hokage remained impassive at that, the narrowing of his eyes the only indication he gave in acknowledgement to the statement, "Is that so. So he wasn't fighting your team?" he asked with an extremely calm voice, but Kakashi knew the man was extremely angry, he was just masking it.

The young man nodded.

"Do not worry Kakashi, I will see to it that Danzo is taken care of and punished accordingly. The last time I let him off was because I was his target, but this time, he went directly under my nose and not only that tried to abduct the son of a Hokage but compromised the safety of an innocent boy." Turning to look at the towering mountain with the face sculptures of the Hokage on the horizon he continued "Danzo has stepped on the legacy of my predecessors for the last time" with that said the man known as the professor swivelled on the balls of his feet and walked back toward the village.

Kakashi looked at the members of his squad, "Tenzo, create some clones to carry the corpses to the T&amp;I Division, I'm sure Yamanaka Inoichi will gather something out of them" with that said they followed the Hokage. The silver haired ANBU knew one thing was certain; Danzo Shimura was going to reap what he sown tenfold.

He had stepped on the Hokage's toes one too many times, and this time was the final straw.

* * *

Sarutobi stared at Danzo who sat opposite of him on a large tatami mat, he had had various cuts and bruises on his form, and he was staring back with well-practised impassiveness but the Hokage could pick out some hints of nervousness in his eyes.

The air was grim with tension and it was so thick that it was almost palpable.

Danzo's uneasiness was like an open book for the Hokage, the Hokage was just glaring at the other man impassively and the other man was uncomfortable under the stare even though he hid it well.

Danzo couldn't remember the last time someone or Hiruzen for that matter had made him feel this way, this uneasy. It was a feeling he did not like at all, it reminded him of how he would always be inferior to Hiruzen. He could not read the other man's emotions as his face was set in an impassive expression that would have made the second Hokage proud.

Sarutobi couldn't believe it had finally come to this, he had always knew Danzo's extremist ways would be his downfall however he had never thought the man who had once been his best friend would fall so far.

So here they were now, and the Hokage knew he couldn't afford to have another Orochimaru scenario here. Danzo had gone against him at his own risk and he would have to take responsibility for his actions. There would be no remorse this time, he had to deal with Danzo strictly and harshly and set an example that he would not allow any traitors in the village.

In a way Danzo had always been right, his passive and pacifistic ways had made him soft and made him susceptible to take advantage of, but it still did not mean that Danzo had to go against him in this matter. The case involving Naruto was not village threatening, it was just Danzo's greedy desire to have more power and that would be his downfall tonight. He would make an example of the man to all that he would not stand for treachery in his village.

It was time to show who was the Hokage, and he was the Hokage not the council.

"Danzo, you do not know how extremely repulsed and disgusted I am by what you have done, you have gone too far this time" the aged Hokage said as he drove a piercing glare at the other man who sitting opposite of him.

The man knew lying was out of the question. He had to play his cards right here if he was to get out of this. "I did no wrong Hiruzen; I merely tried to secure and stop the village's Jinchuriki from escaping and return him to Konoha" he said emotionlessly hoping the Hokage would buy his lie.

Sarutobi did not seem at all moved by the statement, his eyes closed as he spoke "At whose permission I ask? Did the Hokage order you to?" he asked as he glared at the other man whose poker face recoiled a bit at the question.

When the man did not answer Sarutobi continued, "There is only one Hokage in this village Danzo and you are not him, you will not do as you please anymore and furthermore you still ran ROOT despite my order to disband it. You have disobeyed me one too many times Danzo" the Hokage said sternly keeping his hard and stern glare on the other man who was now visibly nervous.

Danzo remembered when they had been at the very same situation after the Uchiha massacre, and how angered the man had been by his actions. This time he knew that it would be hard to escape the Shinobi no kami's wrath.

"But Hiruzen-" the Hokage silenced the man with a raise of his hand.

"There will be no buts Danzo, this the second time in the span of a year we have this conversation. You remember the last time we had this conversation? It was on the night after the Uchiha massacre and I told you I would not tolerate your acting on your authority." The Hokage stood up from the mat, glaring intensely at the black haired cripple, "Yet you still went and did this, this time you touched a sore subject Danzo and I will not show you any mercy"

He took a deep breath of air before he spoke again "Danzo, for your numerous treacherous acts against the village and the Hokage, you shall be executed two days from now. ANBU!" Various ANBU appeared inside the office, all of them there to subdue the war-hawk should he attempt anything. Danzo's eyes widened at that, but they quickly turned grim "You will accept your punishment with honour and dignity, befitting of your stature. Do you have anything to say?" the Hokage asked as he looked down at the other man who was still seated.

Danzo stood up, before a smile broke on his face "Yes, it is not my time yet. I am sorry that it had to come to this Hiruzen but one day you will see things my way" he said before in a blink of an eye, several bodies fell down as six of the ANBU took out Katanas and stabbed the others. They moved near the elder and grabbed on to the old War-hawk.

"ROOT! What is going on here?" The Hokage asked fiercely with a glare at the other man.

Danzo looked at his one-time friend with a glare, "You thought you could protect the boy from me, but cannot. He will be mine. He will embrace his destiny and become a true Jinchuriki, he will be ROOT. Take care of the village Hiruzen, I shall return one day."

"This time to be Hokage" he said before he was pulled away by his Root ANBU as they leaped out of the Building.

"Damn you, Danzo. ANBU…ANBU" He called and not long Tenzo and Kakashi came bursting into his office.

"What is the matter Hokage-sama?" Tenzo asked the Hokage whose fist was clenched tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Kakashi, Tenzo, Gather a squad of elite Jonin and ANBU immediately, Danzo is trying to defect from the village. I want you to stop him at all costs. He is going after Naruto"

"Hai" both men nodded, understanding the graveness of the situation before they disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

The Hokage felt a bit lightheaded for moment as worry and fear for Naruto racked his being for a second time. Leaning down on his chair, he rubbed at his forehead with a clearly weary sigh _'Danzo, just what monster have you become?'_

* * *

**(Two Days Later)**

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he shot up from the bed where he was sleeping on, breathing and sweating heavily with his shirt clinging to him due to how soaked it was.

He looked around in panic and the first thing he noticed was that he was in a room but he didn't recognise it. Did that mean he was caught? Had Danzo managed to catch him? Looking at the stiches on his body, he wondered when he got them, he remembered that he had been attacked by a group of bandits when he had collapsed due to exhaustion and hunger after two days of constant running.

He frowned lightly at the memories; he wondered how he ended up in this place because it seemed way too comfortable to be any place to place a prisoner but figured he couldn't get his answers by snuggling in bed.

He was immediately put on guard as the door to the room he was held 'captive' in squeaked lightly before it swung open and in walked a young girl probably two or three years older than him. She had silky light brown hair and pale, milky skin with warm beautiful forest green eyes that captivated with a sense of mystery to them.

Seeing he was awake the young girl smiled a beautiful smile as she gazed at his direction, "Oh you're awake. That is good, how do you feel? We had found you passed out near the river in the forest near our home. It seemed you had lost quite a lot of blood and suffered from exhaustion and hunger as well" she explained as she came near him, before looking at the now blood stained shirt and bandages that were covering his body. "I should probably change those, look at how bloody they are, I can't believe you lost so much blood yet you are still alive. Just how much blood do you have?"

Ignoring the girls rambling Naruto asked the first question that came to mind, "Where am i?"

"Oh you are in Namishu, it is a small village near the coast of Nami no Kuni"

"Are you the one who found me?"

"No you were found by Higure-oji, he brought you here, which is very strange since he doesn't usually like bringing strangers here, especially those from Ninja villages. My name is Hotaru by the way" the girl said absentmindedly as she worked on un-wrapping the bandages covering the blond.

"So you know where I am from?" the girl nodded her head with a bright 'Yep'. "Then you must know that it is not safe for me to be here and for you as well, thank you for everything but I must leave now"

The blond moved away from the girl and tore his bandages, drawing a protest from the brown haired girl however no soon after the bandages were fully removed she gasped in shock at what she saw.

The boy who had been knocking on death's door when her grandfather brought him the previous night, with numerous bone, and muscle fractures and having lost quite a lot of blood, far too much for a human, was seemingly standing there without so much as a scar to show he was critically injured on his being the day before.

She brought her hand to her chest trying to stem the shock she felt and another to her mouth to prevent herself from squealing like a fangirl at the blonde's strange fast healing "But…but how?" she asked as she moved closer to the blond, running and tracing a hand gently on his unblemished skin, failing to notice the small shiver Naruto gave when she touched him.

Her doctor instincts kicked in. She knew all about herbs and Medical Ninjutsu, and she knew how they can speed up the healing process but this was insane. The blond before had been critically injured but here he was all healed without the help of any Jutsu.

Just a good rest and he seemed raring to go.

As she continued examining this strange 'human', she caught the obvious discomfort he felt with her touching him like this "You're not comfortable with this are you?" She asked sheepishly with a blush, looking at his piercing purple rippled eyes which widened at the question before they became solemn and slightly downcast.

"Yeah, I'm just not used to this sort of things" he said before he moved away from her, much to her disappointment, toward the night stand "And I heal fast that's all" Naruto exclaimed in answer to her previous question as he put on his torn white, which currently looked brown shirt, discarding the one he was wearing which he assumed had been put on him when he was brought to this place.

"Indeed you do young man" any further conversation was broken apart when a new slightly gruff old voice entered the fray snapping the attention of the two to the owner.

There at the door entrance stood an elderly man probably in his seventies if Naruto had to guess. He had light or faded red hair which went to his back tied in a long ponytail, sharp purple eyes and a pale but fair complexion. His body was firm and his stance was that of someone who had trained harshly for years, he was clad in a grey coloured Kimono that went to his legs, with white a shirt underneath and Japanese styled magenta sandals with white socks. He had a kindly look to him, however his eyes were what caught Naruto's undivided attention, they were eyes of someone who a rather dark, sad past and one who harboured a great deal of regret.

"Hello young Uzumaki-kun my name is Higure" the older man said as he offered his hand, introducing himself to the young blond who shook his hand.

The young girl's breath hitched at that, "Uzumaki? You mean to tell me that he is…" the older man nodded cutting her off from finishing her statement.

Naruto looked at them with a confused expression, before something clicked about the man's statement.

"You know who I am?" The man nodded, "How?" Naruto asked with an understandably confused and somewhat alarmed expression.

"It would be a shame if I couldn't recognise one of my clansmen wouldn't it?" he said casually deciding to tell the blond the truth.

Naruto's eyes widened at that as the brief wave of fear momentarily left him "You mean you are from the Uzumaki clan?" when the man nodded Naruto's face gleamed with hope and happiness, "But how? I thought they were all killed"

"Yes but a few of us escaped and we are now scattered all over the world, it saddens me to see what has become of our once proud clan but the world is a cruel place and our clan fell to that cruelty" the man finished bitterly.

Naruto saw the bitterness etched across the man's face and could understand how he felt. He sort of reminded him of that Sasuke kid from back in Konoha "Thank you Higure-san but I have to leave now, it is dangerous for me to be here and I don't want to intrude" he said as he thought about what would happen when they discovered his 'condition', he didn't want to leave but he knew that if he stayed he would only be pushing his luck.

They would learn about the Kyubi and they would hate him, and the blond would rather leave than suffer the pain and heartbreak of having a relative hate him.

The gleam that had been in his eyes had all but disappeared now.

"Where will you go then young man?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I…don't know, I guess I haven't thought about it yet" the young blond said quietly slightly downcast.

"Then you can stay here, what kind of man would I be if I let you roam this dangerous world by yourself? Considering your 'condition' you would be hunted like a trophy by many villages for what you contain. No you must stay here with family, it would be safer" the man didn't miss the widening of the young blonde's and the way his body tensed when he mentioned the word 'condition'. He inwardly sighed sadly; he had figured the reason for the young boy running away from Konoha village.

Although Naruto didn't want to show it, his jaw was snapped tight and his fist was clenched tightly, not in anger but rather disbelief. He couldn't believe that the man was so accepting of his status as a Jinchuriki, regardless of the dangers it posed and what was amazing was that the man had only just met him.

It made him even angrier at Konoha, if a stranger, even though they were family could accept him after only meeting him regardless of his status, then why the people of couldn't Konoha do the same after 8 years.

"A-are you…are you sure about that" the blond said softly, trying to hide the tremor in his voice as he felt the urge to cry.

The only response he got to his question were wide welcoming smile from both Higure and Hotaru.

Yes he didn't regret his decision to leave Konoha at all.

For the first time ever in his life, Naruto Uzumaki smiled a true, heartfelt smile.

He was home at last.

* * *

**(Hidden Cavern, Unknown Location) **

In a large dark room, several coloured projections flashed into life, showing silhouettes nine of various individuals.

They were all transparent, making it harder to see what they looked like. The only distinguishable and visible feature were their eyes, and the ones which attracted the most attention were the ripple-like patterned eyes, with light purple sclera and irises.

"Heh, it's been a while since we gathered like this, I wonder what this is about" a deep, gruff voice spoke from one of the projections.

One with rippled purple eyes spoke in a voice that commanded attention and the utmost respect, "We have a new member. His name is Itachi Uchiha, missing-nin from Konohagakure no Sato" he said and one of the projections' eyes opened to reveal blood red eyes with three tomoe orbiting excitedly around the pupil.

"So he is the Kid who massacred his whole clan huh?" another gruff, slightly muffled voice sounded out.

"Yeah, he looks like someone who could give me a good fight. Samehada agrees that he is a worthy opponent as well"

"Yes however he shall be partnered to Orochimaru since the two are from the same village, they will work well together" the leader said and Orochimaru was glad for the Jutsu making them indistinguishable or else everyone would see the large, predatory grin on his face.

His slit snake-like golden eyes gleamed excitedly. '_Uchiha Itachi eh_' he thought sinisterly as his eyes glowed with a glint full of mad curiosity.

"Things are starting to move huh, so when will we start collecting the Bijuu. I'm itching with excitement for a good fight"

"For now we will continue gathering resources and funds to help our cause. We will begin that part in a few years' time. You can return to all your assignments, you are all dismissed" the leader said and all the spectral projections disappeared. Only the spectral projection of the leader remained as he was caught in deep thought. His projection seemingly on top of a towering shackled humanoid statue with a blindfold on its face, the grotesque thing was in all words frightening beyond comprehension. _'The time to put forth a plan that would change the world forever is etching closer. Soon the Bijuu will be collected and merged to form the greatest weapon to ever live and then….'_

_'The world shall know pain' he thought intently as he flickered out of existence._

* * *

**Another chapter done and dusted...**

**Higure and Hotaru are OC'S who will have a great impact on Naruto's life. And as established, Higure is of the Uzumaki clan. All will be revealed as the story progresses.**

**So please R&amp;R...**


	5. An Offer of Apprenticeship

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO DAMMIT! AHHHHHH, CAMEHAMEHAH YOU FUCKING LAWYERS.**

**OOPS I just cussed, my bad (Giggle)...**

**Sorry for the long update, but I have been busy with some exam prep stuff. I hardly like making excuses and almost never give any but that is the case and I have also been working on this little side project of mine that will be revealed soon. so here is the fourth chapter of a story I am enjoying writing so far, hope you enjoy reading as well.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: An Offer of Apprenticeship**

* * *

**(Namishu)**

Naruto walked calmly amidst the lush greenery of the large forest surrounding Higure's house.

It had been a week now since he had begun living with the elder Uzumaki and Hotaru whom he had discovered to be an orphan the other man had taken in.

He did not understand the circumstances that led to the beautiful brown-head becoming an orphan, but from the little he had seen just from Higure speaking about it and how grave her eyes had been, he knew it wasn't very pleasant and definitely something the brown haired girl felt uncomfortable discussing. He couldn't blame her though, he also did not feel comfortable opening up about his past in Konoha as well, but hoped that one day they could trust each other enough to share their experiences and pasts with each other.

He snapped himself out of his thoughts when he finally arrived at his destination. Before him was a large, spacious clearing that could be utilised for numerous activities and the blond immediately knew that it would be appropriate for what he had in mind.

Letting out a long calm exhale of breath, the blond spread his legs slightly as he settled into a comfortable fighting stance. He looked at a giant boulder in front of him and decided it would be his obstacle. Ever since he had arrived at Namishu, he had been thinking about this quite a lot and had been meaning to test it as soon as he got the time and a safe place to practice.

The blond was intrigued by the Rinnegan. He wished to see if the 'Shinra Tensei' as he discovered was the name of the Jutsu, whether it was the only technique he could use that were bestowed upon him by the Rinnegan. Since he had no one to teach him, and with the Kyuubi refusing to help him. He had only himself and his experience to work with.

He took an intake of breath to compose himself and slowly lifted his hand, pointing it directly in the position of the boulder. His eyes closed as he took more and quick intakes of breath and releasing it just as quick in a manner similar to a breathing exercise. He could feel as his Chakra welled up inside him, it was violent and untamed but he could reign it in with sheer willpower alone. A thin sphere of blue Chakra gathered around him, collecting and revolving around him in small wisps and blowing debris gently away.

Naruto felt like he was in heaven, every time he summoned his Chakra it always made him feel peaceful and relaxed. The feeling it brought was fulfilling and warm and intoxicatingly harmonious, he felt as if he was connected to his soul, searching his very being to the unknown depths of its core for answers and to understand oneself. He could understand what the Kyuubi meant when he said the sage wished to unite people through Chakra, it made a lot of sense right now but he still did not understand it all the same. He concentrated on his Chakra, kneading and shaping it, guiding it to where he desired.

Finally feeling that he had gathered enough, his eyes snapped open and he brought his hand up and released his Chakra in one massive burst "Shinra Tensei" he said sternly. The effect was simultaneous, the large boulder he had been aiming at was blown to shrapnel, obliterated to dust by the intense gravitational pressure and force. However the boulder was not the only thing that was blown away, the blond was blown away as well however not in a manner too harshly. He righted himself to stop before he could collide with a tree not a long distance behind him.

Getting up he looked at the crater-like trench across the ground where the boulder had been blown away from, he looked on with a look of disbelief but soon turned the attention to himself and frowned lightly.

He had been planning to simply blow the boulder only, not everything else as well and not only that he had also blown himself away as well. He sighed inwardly. How could such a badass Jutsu like this be so troublesome? He literally had access to an incredible technique that he could not use when he wanted but only when he needed it. But then that mean he would only have to work harder to master this technique but first he needed to figure out the mechanisms behind it.

He was brought out of his musings when he sensed someone approaching his position. He tensed lightly in preparation for anything but relaxed immediately when he saw it was Higure who was in his usual attire, however today he was wearing black ninja sandals.

Naruto looked at the older man with a quirked eyebrow "Is there a problem Higure-oji?" the blond asked his fellow clansmen who only shook his head in the negative with a wide smile on his face.

"No there is no problem Naruto, although you shouldn't train without supervision for someone your age. I just wish to let you know that I wish to take you as an apprentice. I would like to teach you everything I know. You are the next generation and hold the fate of the Uzumaki in your hands. It was by god's will that you left Konoha. He must have a purpose for you that you must fulfil and I wish to make you efficient enough in succeeding" the older man said causing the blonde's eyes to widen in surprise.

"You want…to teach me?"

"Of course, although I will not be of much hep to you regarding the abilities those eyes of yours granted you. I can teach you about our clan's skills, Nature transformation and how to control your Chakra better."

"Nature Transformation?" the blond asked confusion aligning his features.

"Yes, have you not heard of it before?" the younger blond just shook his head negatively with an embarrassed expression on his face. The older man sighed at that, 'Just exactly what have those people in Konoha done your son?' "It is the ability to use and covert or turn your Chakra into one of the five basic five elements that exist out there by manipulating its inner properties and turning its characteristics into that of a specific Nature. Those natures are Katon, Suiton, Futon, Doton, and Raiton respectively and once you have mastered these you can use techniques of each element with excellent precision."

"So is it possible to be able to use all five elements" the blond asked the redhead elder Uzumaki.

The man looked at the blond as he answered "No" he said simply and the blond immediately deflated at those words "For normal people it is an impossible ability for you have to be affiliated to all elements but….." Naruto's head snapped to look at the elder man at that "For you, well it won't be an issue. Those eyes you have enable you to use all five without problem, but first you have to train to master each individual element"

He pulled put a small slab of paper and handed it to the blond, who looked at it confusedly "It is a Chakra paper. You channel Chakra into it and it should prove whether or not you can use all five elements as I have theorised. If fire, it will ignite and turn to ash, if wind it will split cleanly in half, if earth, it will crumble and turn to dust, if water it will soak and dampen and if lightning it will crinkle. If you do possess all five, I don't know what would happen but I'd imagine that it will be a sight to behold, now…"

With a nod and a look of concentration entering his eye, Naruto channelled Chakra into the paper immediately after doing so he looked on in amazement as it split into two pieces which split again to make four pieces making Higure's eyes widen in shock, however it did not end there as one piece caught onto fire, while another wrinkled, and the last two wetted and turned to dust respectively.

'_That was rather peculiar, although he does possess all five elements_, _it seems that wind is the dominant one while the_ _others are balanced equally. This is absolutely incredible._ _It is unheard and unfathomable_ _of anyone to awaken the ability to use elemental nature Chakra at_ _such an age. Just what exactly are you Naruto_?' Higure mused to himself with a faraway look in his eyes.

The blond looked at the elder man who had been quiet for a while as he spoke "So does that mean that I have all five elements?" he asked curiously.

When the elder man nodded, Naruto smiled widely and pumped his fist into the air. He felt the urge to jump for joy knowing he would literally be able to throw cool fireballs and thunderbolts around like there was no tomorrow.

Higure watched the young blond smile widely and excitedly with a small sad smile of his own that the blond failed to see. He wondered why Naruto's smile seemed to affect him so much, why he remind him so much of her? The one who he had failed.

He continued musing on his thoughts as he suddenly remembered a conversation he had with Hotaru back a few days ago after Naruto's arrival.

* * *

_**(Flashback-2 days ago, three days after Naruto's** **arrival)**_

_Hotaru glanced at Higure who had a faraway look on his face as he stood on the balcony of their house, his gaze looked to be focused on something but she had no idea what it was. Moving toward him, she looked down at what he was looking at only to see him staring at Naruto who was staring off into space as well, a wistful look on his face although she could not see it well._

_"Are you alright Higure-oji san?" the girl asked with a concern filled voice as she looked at the only person she considered family in the world._

_"Yes I am fine Hotaru-chan" with a smile he continued, "I have decided to apprentice Naruto to myself, do you agree with the notion?" he asked the girl who looked at him quizzically._

_"Why would I object, it is your decision in the end but I do wonder why you are going to such extreme lengths for him?" she asked simply whilst looking at the man._

_He frowned a little at that before he spoke "I do not know myself, but my heart is just telling me that I need to train this boy. That I owe it to him somehow, and beside that there are also personal reasons involved in this. My relationship with Naruto is far more intricate than I'd like to believe"_

_"What do you mean by that?" she asked confusedly._

_He just shook his head at that as he smiled "Oh no it is nothing you should be worried about, old age must really be catching up to me. Don't mind this old man's blabbering" he said dismissively with a smile causing Hotaru's eyes to narrow in suspicion._

_With a nod and a sigh, her hands went to her hips as she spoke "Alright I guess, anyway I made lunch. You should call Naruto now, he has been out there for a while now, and he will catch a cold or something" she said in a typical concerned mother voice._

_With a chuckle Higure stepped away from the balcony and went down the stairs to call his fellow Uzumaki clansman in the meanwhile shaking his head at her antics._

_(**End of Flashback**)_

* * *

Shaking himself out of his thoughts he motioned for Naruto who returned his attention to the other man as he spoke once more "I will train you to the best of my ability over these next few years, it will be gruesome and challenging and I will not go easy on you. I am a master of two elements which I am affiliated to, Suiton and Raiton, but I can also use Futon Ninjutsu proficiently. I will get you a few scrolls to use for Doton and Katon."

"So do you accept the offer Uzumaki Naruto?" the man asked the younger blond, not wanting to simply demand things off of him without giving him a choice. The boy had already gone through the most part of his life having his fate decided for and held in the hands of other people.

Naruto remained silent for a while mulling the question over. He appreciated the elder man for giving him the choice of whether he wanted to be his apprentice or not without simply making one for him. He was going to accept Higure's offer either way but the fact that he deemed it fit to ask if he wanted to or not just made it all the more greater, the man had done so much for him without asking for anything in return. With a grin on his face the blond responded to the other man. "Yeah I accept"

Higure smiled widely at that "Alright then. Now here is what we will do, i will begin with Suiton and I expect you to master it in no time since it is the easiest to master out of all the five, during your spare time we will work on getting you proficient in reading and calligraphy in order to help you when we finally begin your Fuinjutsu training. In the mornings we will focus on Taijutsu training and the afternoon will be on Nature transformation. Are you ready for this?" he said looking at Naruto to see if he understood him or had any objections to what he was saying.

"Hai sensei"

"Good, you have to understand that I will not always be around to protect you and Hotaru which is why I am training you right now, it is not just to grant you power to protect yourself but those who are family to you" he said with a serious yet somewhat faraway tone.

Although he frowned at the man's tone he still nodded his head "I understand sensei"

"Good, now concerning the Rinnegan. I believe that like other Dojutsu and Kekkei Genkai although it isn't one itself, it responds to you when you experience emotions of deep and great anguish, desperation or despair and its Chakra momentarily flows through into you allowing you to access one of its abilities like the Sharingan does. The only way to bring about it is to put you in dangerous scenarios, however that will have to wait until we have trained you enough in your other skills" he said, his hand stroking his cheek sagely as he was settled in a thinking posture.

Naruto's eyes widened at the redheaded elder man's words. The man was like some sort of psychic to him. He always seemed to know these type of things, he knew he was right about the Rinnegan's abilities manifesting when one was thrown into dangerous and life-threatening situations. The man never seized to amaze the blond with his theories and observations about certain things that interested him enough for him to entertain the notion of looking into them.

It was like he was some kind of all-knowing deity of sorts.

Shaking his mind out of the gutter the blond responded "Yeah, the same thing happened to me, but the problem is that I can't control it when it does happen. I just seemingly blow everything into the next dimension"

"Well we shall see what we do as time goes by, but for now I just want to teach you not to rely on those eyes too much. They may be a blessing and give you ungodly power but they will make you grow arrogant of your skills and overconfident, you should learn to be versatile and unpredictable alright" he said looking at his apprentice with a small smile on his face.

"Hai sensei I understand" he replied back with a beaming smile of his own.

"Good now, let's go have something to eat. Tomorrow we begin your training"

The blond nodded as the two began walking back to their house. The sun was already setting, painting the sky a glow of orange and setting the scene between the two Uzumaki up for an excellent Grandfather-Grandson picture as they laughed back on their way back to the house, sharing jokes and making short banter.

One thing was clear, things were going to start moving very soon.

* * *

**(Konohagakure, Hokage's office)**

Sarutobi sat behind his large desk, his pipe in his hand to help him keep calm as he finished reading the report team Ro and the rest of the Jonin contingent had just delivered regarding their mission to retrieve Danzo Shimura.

Again the old Hokage could feel the beginnings of a rather big headache as he thought put the scroll down on the table. Bringing his head to rub at his temple he could not help but keep thin king about one thing.

The mission had been a failure.

Now the most notorious warmonger ever to grace the Elemental nations was out there, now not bound by the village and free to do as he pleased all in the name of Konoha as he often excused himself or his actions. This time his target was something even greater, the Kyubi Jinchuriki, Naruto.

There were so many details about that which worried the Hokage. He knew should Danzo get his hands on Naruto, it would not be long before he threw the world into war yet again in his desire to conquer the five great nations but more than that he knew that Naruto would be lost forever if the man managed to warp and twist his beliefs into those of his ROOT and foundation division.

He could not let that happen, he had to find Naruto as soon as he could, for should he not and Danzo were to succeed, it was highly likely they would have the second coming of Madara Uchiha in their hands. Only this time, Naruto had power that would make Madara seem like a child playing with a couple of matchsticks.

The Rinnegan.

If Danzo were to find out and realised the truth about the eyes Naruto possessed, the Hokage feared what would happen. Would Danzo take Naruto's eyes like he did Shisui and then kill him? What the Rinnegan could do far outweighed and outmatched what the Bijuu could do after all. The man always had a penchant for getting rid of what he deemed unworthy and what he deemed too great a risk to be kept around. So would he do the same thing he did Shisui to Naruto?

The elder man did not want to think on that for too long, for now he had made arrangements to find the blond before his former friend would.

He was brought out of his musings however when a booming voice spoke from behind him, "You look old Sensei" the voice said somewhat amusedly.

With a hearty chuckle, the first one he had to shed since Naruto had left he responded "Well, time hasn't been all that kind to me and certain events have left me aged beyond my years as well, Jiraiya"

The man stepped away from the window to reveal a tall man of waist length spiky white hair, two large bangs framing each side of his face which had two lines running down it from his eyes, he wore a green kimono with a red haori over it and traditional geta sandals. Overall the man radiated an aura of youthfulness and mischief, however if one looked enough they could see the hard and serious look buried deep within his eyes.

With a wave of his hand Jiraiya spoke "Yeah well anyway, what did you call me here for?" he asked casually as he plopped down on a seat.

Entwining his fingers in a poker face posture Hiruzen began "Well you see Jiraiya, we have a problem. A week ago, your godson Naruto ran away from the village"

Silence reigned for a few seconds as the white haired man processed what he had just heard. He blinked a few times before adopting a casual posture "Come on, don't screw around Sensei, why did you really call me here"

"I believe I just told you Jiraiya-kun. Minato and Kushina's boy ran away from the village and I need you to find him as soon as possible"

"Wait but why would he do that, what drove him to even do such a thing?" the man asked curiously as he stared at his Sensei his face asking for answers.

Sarutobi sighed knowing this was not going to be pretty "One week ago, Naruto was attacked and nearly killed by a horde of angry civilians for reasons not known to me or anyone." He began causing Jiraya's eyes to widen and then narrow in anger "During that time, Naruto awakened the Rinnegan and killed a Chuunin who had gotten involved in the affair" Jiraiya simply could not believe what he had just heard, Rinnegan? Minato's boy? "After that he collapsed and Kakashi brought him to me. The next morning when we spoke it appeared that he had learned of the Kyuubi and despises not only the village but Minato as well."

"So you are telling me that the only family I may have left, an eight year old boy at that is roaming the corners of this unsafe, vile and corrupted world? and not only that but has the Rinnegan as well?" the man asked with a saddened but slightly angry look.

Standing up and walking toward the nearest window he continued "Yes But that is not where the gist of the problem lies, you see Jiraiya after killing Mizuki, many civilians and council members sanctioned for Naruto to be executed, however Danzo tried to use this to his advantage to get them to support his decision of having Naruto be handed over to his care, although I refused the notion, he still found his opportunity when an ANBU came to the office announcing that Naruto had escaped the village. The news shocked me so hard that I had a panic attack and Danzo used the opportunity granted by that to seize Naruto for himself. Well the results of his actions have led us to this situation, I was to have him executed for that however he had anticipated this and escaped the village and now he is going after Naruto. Which is why I am begging you Jiraiya to please bring Naruto back before it is too late, I am sure you understand the gravity of this situation by now"

Jiraiya remained quiet as he digested the news, he was shocked, angry and saddened at the life Naruto had endured and the terrible pain he must have suffered in Konoha. When he thought about how Danzo hoped to add more misery to the boy's life he became enraged. What's more was the fact that Naruto had the Rinnegan, eyes he had thought he would never see or hear of since Nagato, his late former student. Was this something that had not been foreseen or mentioned in the prophecy, was Naruto the one?

He didn't know but he would find out.

"Yeah, Danzo isn't the only thing we should be worried about right now. there are far greater threats assembling out there" the man said seriously, a large frown marring his features.

"What do you mean Jiraiya-kun?" the Hokage asked confused by his statement but knowing enough about him to see how serious he was.

"We'll speak about it when i get back" he said to the other man as he stood up from the chair he was sitting on and began moving toward the door.

"Don't worry Sensei. I promise nothing will happen to Minato's boy" he said to the elder man who nodded in relief and understanding.

_'Not while i am still around'_ he thought as he exited the office oddly enough using a door this time.

He would not fail anyone this time, he would not fail Naruto anymore.

* * *

**Next chapter will be about Naruto's training. I will also show some of his interaction with Hotaru, but it won't be long before we have a timeskip (4 years). possibly perhaps in the sixth or seventh chapter and from there the action will unfold with a vengeance.**

**If you have any questions please pm me, i am open to anything, even jutsu theories since in this story i will be employing a lot of my own jutsu theories and HM techniques. **

**Thanks for reading. **


	6. The Training Begins

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, so I will just continue owning this fanfiction.**

* * *

**A/N: Heya people, it's the immortal here back with the fifth chapter of the story. **

**I have to admit I feel very glad to see that so many people enjoy this story and I am sorry for keeping you waiting long without updating but that little 'annoyance' (Ahem….Exams) I talked about, is keeping my hands tied but luckily I will be finishing soon and I will dedicate most of my time to updating the story. **

**Someone in their review asked me what my update interval was and well, truth be told, I am not sure, but i prefer updating chapters two or three days apart (If I'm not busy). My advice to authors out there is that it is best to at least try to write two chapters in the few days leading up to your update, it helps since you can then have the time to analyse and review the other one before posting it. Now moving on, there is an issue which amuses me greatly, most people in their reviews have been asking when Naruto will meet Shion (and have babies XD:), But I would like to point out; **

**-That one; both are still eight at this stage,**

**-Two; Naruto is living with Higure and Hotaru and thus, will not be travelling to Demon country or anywhere else for that matter, he has no reason to leave. **

**At this point I'm still trying to build up events leading up to when Naruto will start travelling. I appreciate some of you guys taking your time to point out some flaws and PMing me with some suggestions regarding the story; it really helps a lot and is much more preferable than 'flaming'. I don't disregard critique but sometimes instead of criticising someone's work in the form of 'burning them with Amaterasu flames', please (and I say please) consider both the + pos and – neg, in the end it is you who feels bad at the end of the day.**

**As I said, I'm open for enquiries regarding the story and any suggestions.**

* * *

** Chapter 5: The Training Begins  
**

* * *

_Blood. It was everywhere; the stench smell invaded his nostrils with a vengeance and ferocity of a god of war. It was everywhere, a dark crimson unlike any other, splashed across the ground and flowing in small rivulets._

_The water from the sea surrounding the area was stained a dark red in colour, the same as that of his clan members' hair colour, almost as if mocking them._

_A lone redheaded man stood amidst all this, his eyes were wide with shock and Horror for the sight before him was blood-curdling. His head tilted this way and that as he looked for anything remaining of his now former home. Countless bodies lay sprawled across the ground, some were sinking into the waters which raged on as they swirled in great whirling tides of destruction._

_It made for a Horrifying sight considering the water glinted and swirled ominously as if trying to rid itself of the stench life force that stained it to its very core and retain its pure, serene oceanic blue form._

_The silence was deafening and the enemy had left, having accomplished their objective, they saw no reason to stay and wait for their victims' allies to arrive._

_And all they had left were ruins and death._

_The sight would surely have the Shinigami licking his terrifying lips in giddiness._

_Falling to his knees weakly as more tears fell from his face, the redhead let out a shrill scream of pain, his voice echoing through the desolate and smoking area. He was broken, and alone. Everything that he ever had, everyone whom he had fought with, loved, shared laughs and pain with were all gone, and he had not been there when it happened._

_He could almost feel all their voices calling out to him, all of them in pain, calling for him to come and save them but he had not come. Now all he arrived to was this, death, destruction, pain and to the sight of the aftermath of a mass genocide._

_He was in pain, but it paled in comparison to the unbearable guilt he felt._

_The loss of all that ever belonged to you or your possessions was painful, but the loss of all your whole clan was in many ways akin to unendurable. The fact that he could have done something to help just further added to the expanding spiral of guilt racking and tearing apart his heart. He was hailed as the strongest of his clan even by their standards; he was seen as being exceptional, a genius; however that didn't matter to him right now. Where had he, the genius been when his clan was laid to waste? He was rumoured as being undefeated on his turf, this turf, a turf which now had been scarred with the destruction of one of the greatest clans in history._

_His eyes were bloodshot red, warm tears still cascaded down his face like a burst dam. After all how can one man witness all this and still retain even a shimmer of their sanity. His family, relatives, love all were brutally killed by these monsters and for what? Because of some unfound rumour that his people were a threat to the five great nations? What can a couple of redheaded idiots wielding ink and brushes do that would warrant this type of injustice, this atrocious act against human nature?_

_Was this the true extent of low humanity has fallen?_

_Innocent women and children killed for naught simply because some madmen were paranoid enough to believe that a tranquil nation of peace posed a threat to them, simply because of what they could do with a brush and ink._

_These poor souls didn't deserve what had been dealt them. They had done nothing wrong._

_His breath hitched as he heard a cough from underneath a large slab of stone. Getting up, he ran toward where the noise had come from._

_He stopped upon seeing who it was, and more tears simply flowed from his eyes. Before him was a redheaded woman who lay in her own pool of blood, her beautiful lily-white now kimono the same colour as her hair. She was pale and her eyes were closed._

_"N-no…Y-yuma" the man said as he crouched down, and with great strength gently lifted the stone off of her prone figure "Yuma, Yuma, no…please no" he pleaded as he rubbed his forehead against hers hoping by some miracle it will wake her up._

_Weakly stirring, she only managed to open her eyes and looked at him, before a weak melancholic smile broke on her face "Y-you're h-here…i…glad" she whispered out weakly, her sentences breaking "I-im s-sor-ry…th-e…baby-" he shook his head furiously to stop her from continuing._

_"No don't worry about it, we are going to make it out of here okay, I promise" he said as he looked at her the river of tears still refusing to subside in its flow._

_Bringing her bloody hand, she cupped his cheek gently using all the energy she could muster "N-no, i…w-ill n-nnot m-make it" smiling sadly with great effort, she looked at his bloodshot violet purple eyes with her own "P-lease…t-take….c-care of…our daughter, Hi-" She didn't finish her statement as she released one final breath and her hand slackened, dropping from his face._

_All was quiet for a few seconds, the only noise coming from the soft sobs made by the redhead man "No, no Yuma, please forgive me…..YUMAAAAAAA" another loud scream came from the man's lips as he shouted at the heavens above._

Higure shot up from his bed, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. His hand was clenched over his heart, a pained expression clearly etched on his wrinkled face. The nightmares had returned yet again for the first time in a long time.

With a sigh, realising he couldn't sleep he slipped off his bed, opening the door to his room, he exited and walked aimlessly. He walked for a few more seconds without any true thought of where he was going or where his feet were taking him. Eventually he found himself standing before the room he had given Naruto to use as his. He didn't know what possessed him to come here but he did.

Opening the door slightly he peeked his head in to see the blond sleeping peacefully, and for some reason seeing him like this brought a strange sense of peace to the elder redhead. Smiling lightly he closed the door to the room, and began the trek back to his own. His troubles forgotten for a moment.

'Who would have thought? That you would be my saviour'

* * *

Higure and Naruto stood before the large river in dense forest in the background of their home. The way they held themselves showed clearly enough that the two were preparing to do something and from the clothing they wore.

They were dressed in similar black outfits with baggy hollowed sleeves which bore the red spiral symbol for the Uzumaki clan on both shoulders; they wore similar black ANBU pants, and black sandals. The difference between them was that Higure wore blue samurai-like armour over his outfit while Naruto did not.

"Naruto-kun, the road you have chosen to follow is not an easy one and will on many occasions leave you questioning yourself. You must know that, Training to be a ninja is essentially training yourself to become a killer. I hope you understand that before we begin so that should you have any second thoughts, you can back away." Looking at the blond he was met with a look of deep resolve and blinked in surprise at that, he expected at least to see some doubt on the boy's face but there was none. He reminded himself that this boy had killed before, Naruto had confided in him after experiencing some sleepless nights in the past few days due to seeing nightmares.

"No I have to do this. It is the only way I will be able to protect you and Hotaru-san" he exclaimed with fierce determination burning in his eyes.

Smiling proudly at his clansmen's resolve, he continued "We ninja are seen as nothing more than tools to be used by the village for the village's protection. There are some villages which are far more extreme going as far as to say the mission precedes over the life of the ninja. There are some villages like Konoha that believe in comradeship and looking out for another but still they are not exceptions to the harsh truth of our profession, we kill and nothing can excuse that. All human life is valuable but sometimes we must do what is necessary to protect those we love, even at the cost of our own innocence. We are consoled by this simple fact."

"I must confess that once I discovered your situation, I felt tempted right there and then to turn you into a weapon and destroy the greatest cause of my pain and that of the Uzumaki clan, however that would only serve to plunge this already darkened world into deep abyss and at the same time, it wouldn't be right"

Naruto's eyes widened at that, those were the exact same words Danzo had said to him when he left the village. He could understand where the man came from, he would never know the pain of losing family but he knew that it would be painful for him to lose Higure and Hotaru right now.

He looked towards the elder man as he continued "The truth you will need to learn about humanity Naruto is that we are a hateful species, we have defiled and polluted the very life-force used to unite us and turned it into a weapon so destructive that it makes Kami weep for our kind in pity. We live for strife and our thirst for more power is insatiable, the more we accumulate the hungrier and greedier we get. Humanity will never change, but it doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to change the world while we can. Which is why I believe that those eyes you possess are our ancestor's way to atone for his mistakes, you have been sent here to purge this vile and unkind creature. Humanity is like a restless child, what needs to happen is for the cause of that restlessness to be taken away and we will calm down significantly"

"You mean the Chakra?" Naruto asked in shock, having listened to the man enough to make a connection as to what he was saying.

"You will have to find that out for yourself, however even so, that doesn't mean that it will be the end of it all. Humanity will still find new and creative ways to sate their curiosity." Chuckling lightly, he shook his head, "We will not stop until we have completely destroyed ourselves"

Snapping himself out of his monologue and looking at the blond he motioned to the river before them "I'm sorry if that conversation unsettled you, it wasn't my intention." stepping atop the water and motioning for Naruto who did the same he began "Now before we begin, I want you to know that it is imperative to understand the mechanisms of the element of which you use, in order to know the weaknesses and advantages it provides you that you can exploit for yourself" he said, looking at the blond nodded concurring with the man's logic.

"Water, as you know it, surrounds us. It is found in both the underground and on the surface, however it also exist in the air as well in the form of water molecules, it can be found in trees, and has several other forms such as fog, mist, hail and snow"

"Now using Suiton Ninjutsu gives you access to various supplies or resources for your techniques and a wide variety of uses as well. Water techniques can serve for both offensive and defensive purposes, by creating a wall of water to shield yourself and or a wave to deal destructive effects to your enemies. There are three ways in which you can utilise for Suiton Ninjutsu, the first is by manipulating already existing water around you, by using rivers, snow, fog, mist and puddles as a source for your techniques" as he said this, he moved a few feet away from Naruto and taking calm steps on the water as if it were solid ground. He stopped and clasped his hands together, the river's water around him reverberated slightly before swirling around him in a circle and then shortly after exploded outward from him, further shocking and causing Naruto to flinch slightly as some of the drops from the water fell on him.

"Do you now have a solid grasp of this step?" the old Uzumaki asked, ignoring the few beads of sweat trailing down his face. The blond nodded dumbly , still in awe at the man's skill,

Cracking a small, rare smile "Good, it will be easier for you to do since you can see Chakra flow. Now for the second step, this one involves moulding and converting the nature of your Chakra into Suiton Chakra and then water within your body" after that he held a single hand seal and his chest bulged and a small water current shot from his lips.

Naruto once more saw as the Chakra mingled and surged up in the man's body. This time, unlike the last time, in which he saturated the water with his Chakra by pulsating it through his feet, the Chakra seemed to become calm and loosen and it flowed tranquilly within the man's body from the his core and then was expelled from his lips in the form of water.

"Now the third step is the hardest of all. It involves creating water Ninjutsu out of nothing from areas without a prevalent water source, drawing it out of the air itself from molecules and sometimes by forcing it out of objects which contain it. However it is a skill that although may sound simple at hearing, is extremely unnatural and difficult to achieve. In all the years it has only been accomplished and used by one man. Even I can't do it."

Naruto became curious at that. A delicate blond eyebrow raised, he wondered out loud who this man was as he asked his question "So who was this guy?"

When Higure's eyes turned grave, Naruto mentally berated himself, thinking he had offended the redheaded man. He was surprised when he spoke though "He was Senju Tobirama, you may know him as Konoha's Nidaime Hokage. With this skill he became a legend, he could flood an area from nothing and could create lakes in moments. He was akin to a god of water while his brother ruled over the forest. They were anomalies of nature those two" he finished with a far-off look in his eyes.

Looking back at Naruto, he could see the astonished expression on his face, he couldn't blame him though but he knew they had to get started.

"Now while you may never be able to use this skill or manipulate water techniques with the same efficiency as the second Hokage, I can train you enough in it to make you a master of the element. While Tobirama may have been able to create rivers and form Suiton Ninjutsu out of nothing, there was a man who believed that if you gave a true Suiton master an endless supply of water, then they could destroy an entire village"

Naruto's breath hitched in shock at that, his eyes wide as saucers as he contemplated this obscene revelation. Was that possible? Could one truly be that strong at elemental manipulation?

It was very, very utterly unfathomable; such acts were ungodly and astonishingly ridiculous.

Bringing his head up to look at the elder man, he was surprised to see that his face held no regale in it, meaning he was serious as fuck.

Damn….

"You're not kidding?" the question came out as more of a statement, clearly depicting the disbelief the blond was supposedly feeling.

Higure nodded regardless "No I am not. Everything crumbles under the exertive force of water. Fire may burn, wind cut, shred and blow, earth reshape landscapes and lightning pierce and scorch, but water destroys. Water can overwhelm all the other elements, even ones stronger against it, except Raiton" Shuffling into his pocket, he pulled out four scrolls which he tossed toward the blond who caught them and looked back at him with a quirked eyebrow.

"Those are scrolls which contain information on how to train your element; I want you to read all of them. As I said, it will help you get in tune with the advantages and strengths of each element against another. They contain information for Katon, Futon, Doton and Raiton" Naruto smiled as he looked at the scrolls, too happy to be finally treated with some sense of normalcy regarding his studies and training to complain about the reading.

"But what about Suiton?" Naruto asked as he finally noticed that he had not mentioned the water element.

Offering a kindly smile "But I just explained to you everything about Suiton that you would find in the scroll I had, but once you finish reading those I will give it to you since the one I have contains a few high class Ninjutsu, unlike those other ones you have"

Seeing the blonde finally out of his daze he smiled "Alright now lad, it is time" with a nod, Naruto stowed the scrolls into his pocket.

Higure motioned for him to follow him and the two walked atop the water for a few metres before stopping at what appeared to be the middle of the river. "Now, place your palms on the water and focus your Chakra." Doing as instructed, Naruto got on his knees atop the water and placed his outstretched palms atop the surface of the water and awaited further instruction. "Water is all about flow, same as the flow of the river beneath you, force and undeterred movement. To compete this exercise, you should distinguish between the five natures within you, choose the calmer and free-flowing one and then try to create a small wave of water using that Chakra" giving a firm nod, Naruto concentrated on his task as he searched his Chakra.

He was immediately met with varying feelings flowing within his being and coils, in the centre of his Chakra core, his Chakra felt hot as a blazing inferno, while another felt was soft, wet, but heavy, malleable and flowed very slowly compared to all the others, almost like mud, the other Chakra was violent and felt sharp as a sword, while the fourth Chakra sensations felt unstable and was fluctuating madly with cackles, the fifth and last Chakra sensation felt calm, and it swirled within him in a relaxed manner. Although it was relaxed it felt extremely powerful as well, like it had no boundaries and went wherever it wanted.

Focusing specifically on the last one as it felt the same way as the water flowing under him, the blond channelled summoned it over the other four.

Higure watched with a critical eye as his student immersed all his effort into the exercise. The water around him reverberated slightly and rose up as if it was a tide subject to the moon's force of gravity before falling back into the water again. The water rose up again but once more fell back into the stream almost as if it lacked power, this continued on for several more minutes and Higure could see the blond becoming frustrated. He was surprised he hadn't already this far.

"Do not focus on form, but rather on giving it movement and strength and channel more Chakra into it." The blond nodded his hands still squinted in deep concentration as he looked to incorporate the new instruction from his Sensei.

The water around him swelled up once more and a swooshing sound a rushing sound could be heard, causing Naruto to open his eyes in curiosity and look on as the water circulated around the blond in a circular wave. Naruto looked toward Higure who shook his head and mouthed "You aren't done yet, send it toward that rock protruding in the water"

Higure was surprised to see the blond get the exercise in one try, he had expected him to fail some more however the blond seemed truly determined, his following of instruction and keeping a cool head proving that. It seemed Naruto truly considered him and Hotaru family if he would go to such extreme lengths to train in order to be able to protect them, and truly speaking he also knew he wouldn't have it any other way.

He watched on as the wave of water collected in front of the blonde before he sent it careening away in a four feet tall small wave of water, further surprising the redhead. '_Extraordinary, the size of the wave is impressive, and to think it is only Suiton no Jutsu. I wonder what he will be able to do with the more destructive ones_'

Naruto watched as the small wave continued before hitting the large slab of rock and dissipating, a disappointed look came over his features at that.

"Wonderful" Higure said surprising Naruto greatly, "That was excellent Naruto-kun, to be able to do this exercise as fast as you did is impressive for someone your age. I'm proud of you" he said as he ruffled the blonde's hair with a warm smile

"Y-you are?" Naruto asked in surprise, while scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed smile on his face. He wasn't used to these acts of affection, and didn't know how to react when someone would compliment him, and with Higure he seemed to be faced with this strange awkwardness of always being surprised by the man whenever he would praise him for something, and thus the lack of a response one would give when complimented but rather one of surprise.

The feeling was alien to him but it felt darn good and now he just yearned for more.

Offering a warm proud smile the elderly man spoke "Of course, when a student does something good, it is the Sensei's duty to express their pride at them. Now let's go home and get something to eat alright" he said looking at the younger Uzumaki.

"Yeah, that sounds good" following with a large smile on his face the blond couldn't help but recite the word in his head.

'_Home'_

* * *

Naruto charged toward Higure, applying Chakra to his feet to augment his speed as he had been told to so by the elder man. It was late in the afternoon and he was being trained in Taijutsu by the elder man. After having been asked to demonstrate his Taijutsu style by the man and gladly doing so, he had been told one emotionally deflating fact, it was terrible.

Now the old coot had decided to be 'unpredictable' as he also remarked his style was and teach him Taijutsu by beating the heck out of him. Normally this would have made anyone quit but Naruto didn't as he could see what the man was trying to do. He would correct his 'unpredictable' stances and movements mid-fight by slapping, punching or kicking them into an acceptable position.

Now he was bruised and battered, his clothes torn in several places and large beads of sweat rolling down his face testament to how tired he was.

Appearing before the redhead, Naruto threw a punch for the man's face which was blocked, following it up with a kick to the man's mid-section which was caught, leaving the blond open to an attack from the man who duly obliged and kicked the blond in the chest sending him sprawling away a bit.

"Don't leave yourself open to attack like that, and don't just charge in either. Look for your opponent's weak points and use the environment to your advantage as well, when you attack, try to predict your enemy's movements. You have a Dojutsu Naruto, put it to good use" he said seriousness etched in his voice.

Thinking on what the man was saying, Naruto attacked once more but this time, he came in flying at speeds Higure struggled to trace, bringing his fist for punch which the man barely blocked. Seeing an opening the blond sent a kick to the man's shoulder which connected and caused the redhead to stumble backwards slightly. Naruto then tried to follow it up with another kick to the man's face this time however Higure blocked it and was surprised to feel how much it stung.

Bringing in his own foot for a kick which Naruto dodged, before he jumped back and entered his stance.

Rubbing his sore hand, Higure smiled at Naruto. "Alright that's enough for now, but first tell me, how were you able to get increase your speed like that, not even Chakra can increase your speed that fast in such a short time. So how did you do it?"

Naruto smiled at the man as he plopped himself to the ground before smiling at the elder man "Well, when you said I should use my Dojutsu to good use. I thought for a second and then it suddenly clicked to me that no matter what I do I wouldn't be fast enough to land a blow on you, so I decided to make up for that by decreasing the gravity around me."

Higure smiled as he heard that, it was pure genius to think about something like that in the midst of battle. It showed how capable the blond was and how creative he could get when under pressure. "That was quiet clever of you Naruto, I'm proud of you. You are learning quicker than I thought" he said before ruffling the blonde's hair a bit with his smile still on his face.

Naruto beamed at the praise he had received, it was something which had been so rare throughout his entire life he thought, that he had forgotten how it felt to receive to be complimented. "Thanks Ojii-sensei"

Higure chuckled at Naruto's new nickname for him. He realised that these days he had begun smiling and even giving a few chuckles a bit more than usual, even Hotaru had noticed and the girl was obviously happy.

Naruto's stomach growled loudly drawing both males' attention, Chuckling once more Higure spoke "Well, that is our signal that it is dinner time eh Naruto" blushing a furious red at that the blond looked at the ground embarrassingly.

Seeing the embarrassed look on the blonde's face, the redhead shook his head amusedly before "Well I believe we shouldn't keep that stomach of yours waiting now, should we?" starting the trek back to his house with an embarrassed Naruto following behind, cursing his rather monstrous appetite for embarrassing him like that.

* * *

Naruto yawned into his hand as he walked into the kitchen, clad in dark blue, red spiralled morning pajamas. He walked down the stairs of the house from his room to the kitchen, his nose leading him the entire time toward where he smelled something mouth-watering in work.

Nearly bumping into someone as he finished his descent from the stairs "Oh hey morning Naruto-kun" he looked and saw Hotaru smiling at him with a bright smile on her face.

"Morning Hotaru-san" Naruto responded with a smile of his own, stretching his back like a tired lion.

Staring at the blond who had now become part of their small family, she sighed "You know you don't have to address me so formally, it makes me feel old"

"But you are old Hotaru-san" Naruto mumbled to himself quietly as he rubbed at his temples, his voice slightly muffled by the action.

"What did you just say?" she asked her eyes gaining a threatening glint to it as she looked at him with narrowed eyes.

Gulping nervously the blond waved his hands defensively, "N-nothing, wow did you cook all this? It sure does smell nice" he said trying to ward the girl off topic and avoid the 'sweet' female's wrath.

Smiling proudly and bringing her hands up and planting them on her hips, the brunette girl gave a proud smirk "Of course, I happen to be the best cook there is mister"

Naruto moved to sit down on one of the stools, his disobedient stomach growling at the sight of the food. His hand moved to grasp one of the bowls to sate his titanic hunger.

Instantly like a hawk that had been stalking its prey's every movement, out of the corner of her eye, Hotaru saw Naruto's hand move toward one of the plates.

Naruto was literally salivating like a madman as he stared at the food dreamily, who could blame him really. The smell of the miso soup entranced him deeply, coupled with the steaming rice, Tamagoyaki, some grilled fish and deep fried tofu with prickles; the dish would have any man drooling like a dog on the salivation syndrome. Naruto felt as if the food was calling for him to take a bite and as he reached his hand across the table to help himself, a hand reached out and slapped his away with speed that surpassed that of a seasoned Ninja.

Looking up he saw that the owner was glaring at him intensely, a terrifying aura radiating off of her "Before we eat, we brush our teeth first mister. Didn't anybody teach you any manners?" she said as she levelled a disapproving glare at the blond whose expression went from terrified to downcast. Hotaru realised she had said something wrong, and she suddenly remembered he never had any parents, so it was impractical to think he would know proper manners and the true meanings of etiquette. Her expression saddened as her face took on a solemn look, "I'm sorry Naruto-kun, I didn't mean it tha-"

The blond cut her off as he looked up at her "It's okay Hotaru-chan, don't worry about it, at least you were trying to help"

He was rewarded with a kindly smile for his statement as the girl beamed significantly, whether it was for his statement or his addressing her as 'Hotaru-chan', he didn't know but it made him happy to know that she wasn't saddened and possibly left feeling guilty for mentioning that subject.

"Good, now go upstairs and brush your teeth. The old coot will be downstairs in a few minutes. I can see he's been working you up a great deal" the eleven year old said as she went back to her pots.

Rising from the chair and moving toward the bathroom, the blond stopped and answered "Yeah, he doesn't go easy on me that's for sure" the blond said sarcastically. 'not going easy' could not compare to the torture the old man put him through.

He disappeared into the bathroom for a few minutes before emerging out looking much more refreshed. Arriving at the table he found his Sensei, part-time torturer at the tables well, conversing with the brunette.

Upon seeing him Higure flashed him a wide smile that was cheeky at best, "Good morning Naruto-kun"

Naruto just stared at him with a mild glare before he sat down and responded "Morning…now let's eat. I'm hungry"

"You're always hungry Naruto-kun. Where do you put all the food anyway" Hotaru teased the blond who glared at her as well.

Naruto just kept quiet and shuffled his food down greedily with a pout on his face.

Naruto Uzumaki didn't like being teased one bit.

* * *

**To those of you who were wondering how old Hotaru is….**

**Hotaru- Age 11 (I know there is a Hotaru in canon Naruto but i couldn't come up with other names and I just thought this one fits.) **

**Higure- Age 77 and still fresh as a daisy, you know the reason for that.**

**Naruto- Age 8 **

**Someone in their review asked me how Higure knew Naruto was an Uzumaki let alone a Jinchuriki. Well for the being Uzumaki, it will be revealed in one of the chapters but as for being a jinchuriki, remember Higure is the one who found Naruto inured, took him to his house and bandaged him up. So meaning he saw the seal since you all know it appears when Naruto gets injured. **

**The clues are….Higure is a Fuinjutsu master, one from Uzu at that; **

**Naruto is from Konoha; **

**The Kyuubi disappeared eight years ago in the story AND;**

**Higure isn't stupid. **

**So Higure would be able to put two and two together and then get NINE-TAILS. **

**Next update will be on Tuesday. On Monday I have an exam, but I guess it depends on whether the exam frustrates me or not. If it doesn't then we have an early update on our asses.**

**Please Read and Review; if you do I will give you a magical tooth.**

**I'm out, cheers.**


	7. A Training Cut Short, Enter The War-hawk

**Well you all know I don't own Naruto, so let's leave it at that.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: A Training cut short; Enter the Warhawk**

* * *

**(Namishu)**

Naruto dodged a punch to his face, before jumping over a kick to his mid-section from his opponent. His opponent rushed toward him once again, their long faded red hair billowing in the soft breeze.

Entering his stance once more he prepared to defend himself. His opponent threw a fist to his face which he dodged, following up on his attack with another kick to Naruto's gut which the blond blocked but was pushed backwards from the force of the kick, sticking to the surface of the water, the blond skidded atop the surface of the water, creating a small wave-ish path as he disturbed the serene waters. He came to stop as a loose wall of water rose from behind him and he smacked softly into it. Regaining his bearings he saw an axe kick descending toward him from his opponent and the blond rolled out of the way before attempting to take out his opponent's legs from under him with low kick to his opponent's legs which the man jumped over.

Charging towards his opponent, a wave-ish trail of water rushing behind, he engaged him in a bout of Taijutsu. The two were mere blurs to the naked eye as they clashed against one another, throwing punches and kicks in speeds that were impressive to look at. Naruto twisted his body in a 180 turning motion as he sent a roundhouse kick to his opponent which was blocked, before following it up with another long kick which connected with his opponent's chest, albeit with the metal armour covering them taking the brunt of the attack.

His opponent responded with a knee to the gut and a kick to the face of the blond which he blocked with both his arms. Leaping backwards to put some space between himself and his opponent, Naruto assessed the situation. Currently he and Higure were sparring atop the water and the blond was looking a little worse for wear. He was bruised, battered and starving but the latter could wait, the weights he was wearing didn't help either as they made it difficult for him to move faster and restricted him. He was panting harshly, a river of sweat flowing down his face showing the exercise was making him work up a sweat.

It had been five and a half months since his training with Higure had begun and it had only intensified by the day. With each day his redheaded Sensei would add a new obstacle or a crazy rule that would put him at a disadvantage or handicap him, like the one they were doing now for example.

The man had decided to add weights to his clothing and right now the blond was fighting not only the redhead but was fighting with every muscle fibre in his body to prevent himself from sinking into the cold water below him. This was another one of Higure's 'self-created' training exercises where he had to stand and spar atop the water while wearing 150 lbs weighted metal plates all over his body. Although it was troublesome, the effects and results of this particular exercise were extraordinary and astonishing and well worth the trouble. It not only improved his Chakra control significantly, but went a long way toward increasing his speed, endurance, strength and the blond himself was quite pleased with how far he had come from just the basics of physical training.

That though, didn't mean he neglected his studies, spiritual and cognitive training, no he read every book and scroll he could get his hands on to improve his grammar and vocabulary and Higure also dedicated some of his time toward teaching him calligraphy and the blond recognised that the efficiency, control, calamity and elegance that went into the art calmed him down significantly.

One of his primary goal was to find out more about the Uzumaki clan but there weren't many books or scrolls about the once great clan, it seemed the three nations which had attacked and destroyed the nation not only took their lives but paid special effort toward wiping out everything about them from the face of the earth. For now, many didn't have a clue that once a few decades ago the Uzumaki clan existed and the powers preferred it that way.

The little he had found was that the clan were heavy practitioners of the sealing arts and that the clan, almost the entirety of it were recognisable through their red hair, a characteristic he didn't have despite being told he was of the clan by both the Kyubi and Higure. It made him wonder sometimes why he had blond hair and not the traditional red, as the clan genetics books he read pointed out that in every pairing, even one where an Uzumaki had children with an outsider, almost all of them had red hair. Something to do with being the dominant gene or something, he couldn't remember quite well.

So what was it about his 'father' that was so special to overwhelm a potent gene as the Uzumaki's.

He looked toward the shore where currently Hotaru was seated, observing them battle it out intensely. The girl had taken to doing that a lot often lately where she would just sit there and watch him and the redhead spar intensely every day. Why she did it, the blond didn't know but he guessed it could be out of boredom or from a lack of things to do in the house. He sometimes wished she had some friends but at the same time the thought disturbed him slightly, it made him feel as if she would leave him alone if she ever did get any friends. The blond knew if the girl ever wanted to make any friends that she could do so, but since Namishu was basically a ghost town after it was abandoned several years ago following many bandit and Nuke-nin attacks on the small town, the idea was impossible.

He didn't know why but he had the feeling that the girl didn't easily trust anyone; even he wasn't sure where he stood with her. He knew it could be something to do with her past but he never questioned her on it. Despite all this, he had warmed up to the girl considerably, similar with Higure. The two meant a lot to him, and for someone like him, having their first taste of 'family', even and adopted one, the feeling was irreplaceable. He knew he would do anything to keep and protect them and thus the training.

He was somehow uncertain of what his current goal was, having lost his first if not well thought out goal and dream but for now he believed that Higure and Hotaru's safety was his prime goal and he would train his body to the brink of death to become strong, not for him but this feeling. For he never wished to be alone again. To feel hollow, lost and lonely.

He was snapped out of his daze as he heard a loud sound of rushing water, he noticed, albeit a bit too late, a large water ball soaring his way. It wasn't big enough to kill him but definitely big enough to hurt like a bitch. His wide eyes closed as he braced himself for the impact which came down on him like a ton of bricks. Smacking him loudly with so much force it drove him into the river like a pile-driver; he felt a hand grasp his before he could sink and pass out and looked toward the source to see Higure there with a smile on his face.

"You are improving, you managed to stay atop the water for four straight hours without falling in and drowning despite the increase in your weight I added earlier. Good work, but learn never to take your eyes of your opponent" he was proud of his student, in just five months Naruto had absorbed everything that he taught him like sponge and endured any torture he put him through without backing down or hesitating. The blond truly reminded him of himself when he was younger and of another fiery redhead whom he believed he had failed.

Grinning weakly with drooping eyes the blonde's head fell as he succumbed to the blissful call of unconsciousness.

Picking Naruto up and flinging him to his back to carry piggy back style, Higure walked back toward shore.

Finally stepping out of the river water he looked at Hotaru who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow "Was that really necessary?"

Chuckling at the brunette the man glanced at the sleeping blond "Well I believe so, he took his eyes of an opponent in a potential dangerous situation and besides I knocked him out because he was on his last breath. He would have simply asked to keep on going and I didn't want to test the limits of his stamina"

"Fine I guess, let's get him to the house so he can heal and get some rest before he annoys me about food when he wakes up" leading the way to the house with Higure following closely after. She looked back at the man who had changed somewhat dramatically since Naruto's arrival and saw the large smile on his face as he walked behind her 'I've never seen him happier, I guess you really did save him Naruto'

The elder Uzumaki gave a hearty chuckle at that "Well, things certainly seem livelier with him around don't they, perhaps i should give the two of you some time to get well acquainted with each other and just be children, Kami knows you both need it"

Hotaru huffed at that, not at all glad at being reminded she was still a youth; the expression on her face drew another heartfelt laugh out of the elder man. With a pout the girl looked away deciding that for now she would simply let him have his fun.

Glancing at the unconscious Naruto on the elder man's back, she couldn't help but notice how peaceful he seemed. Her lips twitched slightly as a small smile etched itself on her face, 'Yeah, I guess things are interesting once more again, just like that time' she thought to herself, a wistful look appearing on her face at the end of her statement.

* * *

**~~The next day~~**

(**Konoha- Hokage Tower**)

"Well. What have you been able to find?" the voice of Sarutobi resounded out as he turned to gaze at his white haired student, a pipe in his hand as he calmly took a drag of the contents of the tobacco.

Jiraiya sighed wearily "Nothing, I don't know why but it's like he just disappeared off the face of the planet, a few witnesses say they saw a blond haired boy matching his description last in a bandit camp near what was once the port town of Namishu, apparently he was abducted along with a few people but he escaped"

The elder man nodded somewhat reluctantly, as if he wanted to hear more but couldn't "This is troubling indeed and Danzo? What did you find about him and his Root?"

Jiraiya made his way toward the large window where rays of the sun peaked in into the building "Well they have been spotted numerously around the land of rice, why Danzo went there I don't know but I have a hunch Orochimaru may be the reason. It seems Orochimaru may have a hideout in that country" frowns marred the visage of both men at that statement.

Sarutobi set his pipe on the desk before him, looking at Jiraiya with a resigned look "Now what should I do? I cannot send men into another a foreign country without knowing whether out target is there or not" Drawing in a long sigh as he rubbed at his temples "But for now I believe that as long as Danzo can't find Naruto, then we have nothing to worry about. One thing I know for certain is that the fool will never ally himself with someone who would have intentions to destroy Konoha"

The white-haired man turned his eyes back to his Sensei, a serious expression on his youthful face "Well then you're wrong, because a few months ago the Daimyo of Ta no Kuni and his whole family were killed and it seems an unknown assailant is vying for control of the country and they are militarizing it. It's becoming somewhat worrying"

Sarutobi frowned, his narrowed eyes glancing toward Jiraiya with a thoughtful expression "Do you believe Danzo and Orochimaru may be working together and are in on this?" his voice was calm, yet there was an underlying sense of weariness in it.

The white-haired Gama Sannin merely nodded "I believe so, for now we should be ready for anything. Anything involving Danzo is bad but when you have Orochimaru in as well then you have reason to worry greatly"

Sarutobi sighed and just nodded tiredly "Thank you for your help Jiraiya; I don't know what I would do without you. Who would've thought that out of all my students you would be the only one I would come to rely on?"

Jiraiya frowned, his facial features scrunching up slightly "That's because no one thought at all, everyone expects less from clan-less Shinobi and many believe they will never progress far as a Shinobi as compared to more talented and genius individuals from prestigious clans. However I proved that it's not the genetic makeup but the guts and the undying will to never give up that makes a true Shinobi and neither Orochimaru or Tsunade understand that and for a time you didn't either" there was a tinge of bitterness in the Sannin's voice that wasn't lost on his former Sensei.

"Well I suppose you are right. Talented ninja are easier to teach but many never do understand what it means to be strong, even I was blind to that mere fact" the old man let a shamed smile spread over his features.

Jiraiya noticed the downcast mood surrounding the man, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it. He also had his own guilt and shame to wallow in "Yeah, I better go now, I'll see you later" he headed toward the door.

The Hokage sighed sympathetically before he spoke "Regarding Naruto-kun, don't blame yourself Jiraiya. If there is anyone to blame it should be me, i-" he was cut off as the other man raised his hand, stopping near the door and looking back at him.

Jiraiya's eyes moved to look up at the frames of the four Hokage on the wall. His gaze focused on one particular picture, of a man with spiky yellow hair and sharp piercing blue eyes. A smile was on his handsome visage and he similar to the other three wore a necklace with four crystals around his neck and the Hokage robe "No, we are all equally to blame for this, Minato, you and I…we will always be weighed by this mountain of regret and guilt for as long as we live. I could've taken Naruto from Konoha if I really wanted to but I was stuck in the past and used my spy network as an excuse, you could have adopted him if you really wanted to, or gave him over to a foster family to be raised with love, and Minato…" he trailed off at the end, his gaze lingering on the picture of the blond haired man.

Hiruzen nodded in understanding, his gaze focused on the same picture "I understand, he made the gravest mistake of all. That being choosing his son's happiness over the village. No matter what you may say to them, a child would never comprehend that. Children are naturally selfish and too centred on themselves that they do not see the big picture, but even if they were not, anyone would harbour bitterness toward their parents when they choose something bigger over them. I know the feeling…"

"Asuma?" Jiraiya asked his Sensei with a knowing gaze.

He nodded, grasping his pipe and bringing it to his lips. He gave a weary sigh as he stuck it into his mouth "Yes, sometimes it seemed that every time we talked he just drifted further away from me. I suppose I failed him as a father but I just wish he'd come home"

Nodding at the elder man's statement, the white-haired man sympathized with his Sensei. He knew about the man's fallout with some of his family members, especially his younger son Asuma. "I understand and I'm sorry to hear that"

The elder man waved him off "It is alright Jiraiya, now go, I don't wish to keep you, but remember…you aren't the only one suffering from this"

* * *

Naruto absentmindedly stumbled his way back home. He was currently walking in the middle of an empty street in what was once the port village of Namishu. The area around him was unkempt and most of the houses were collapsed and some huts had caved in on themselves. The state of the buildings showed they hadn't been lived in for a very long time. In the horizon the glow and rushing of the sea was visible but the blond wasn't focused on sightseeing.

His vision was blurred and his clothing tattered in many places but the blond was unminding of the state he was in and he just simply continued sauntering back home. The state he was in was contradicted by the large grin of accomplishment he wore on his face.

The blond couldn't stop grinning, and the reason for that didn't include a large steamy bowl of ramen or the fact that he had just went toe to toe with his Sensei atop water for five hours straight and not get knocked out.

What had him grinning like a bulldog was because he had, after five months of intense training, the second step of his Suiton training. It had involved halting the flow of the water and he had struggled with it at for months but in the end he got it down today. Now he could finally do Suiton Ninjutsu, something which his Sensei described as extraordinary.

The blond continued on his walk absently, not aware of his surroundings or of the pair of hidden bespectacled eyes watching him intently which disappeared soon after as they were swept away in a whirl of wind. He continued walking, so lost in his own little world that he didn't notice as he bumped into someone as he turned around a narrow corner.

"Oww" the blond fell to the ground on his butt, having been taken by surprise by the steady presence he had ran into.

"Hey you okay there kid?" in the midst of his grogginess, he could hear as the person spoke. Their voice was soft and Naruto figured it was someone young. Looking up Naruto was met with greyed hair as the person whom he had ran into stared down at him, their face extremely close to his and a kindly smile on their face.

Naruto shook his head to regain his bearings with a groan and looked up. The person before him looked to be a boy, roughly around 15 to 16 years of age; the boy had grey hair tied into a ponytail, wore circular glasses and had on a high collared purple shirt with a white one underneath it, and similarly coloured purple Shinobi pants. He had on plated fingerless purple gloves similar to those worn by Shinobi. Although his Chakra was well suppressed, Naruto's Rinnegan could clearly see that the boy before him had Jounin level Chakra pools at best. His posture was relaxed, although the way his Chakra flickered about showed he was ready for anything. He had on a headband which the blond didn't recognise, even after months of refining on his studies.

Naruto was surprised to see a Shinobi in the area, he never knew there was Shinobi presence in the area but guessed the boy before him was back from a mission and was just 'passing through'.

"Yeah I am, sorry for bumping into you like that. I wasn't paying attention" The blond rubbed at his head sheepishly, a nervous smile on his face as he gazed at the elder boy.

The white-haired boy just smiled politely, dismissing his apology with a wave of the hand "It's alright, I wasn't paying attention either. Say, what's your name kid?"

"Uhh, why you wanna know?" Naruto gazed at him suspiciously but the stranger just chuckled and ruffled his hair and the blond couldn't help but feel there was something off about the boy before him.

The stranger just shrugged nonchalantly as he responded "Well you just seem like a good kid and I thought I should get your name. I'm Kabuto but you don't have to tell me yours if you don't want to"

Naruto shook his head, somehow still feeling this wave of uneasiness radiating off the boy whom had just given off his name far too easily "It's okay I guess, I'm Naruto"

"Well Naruto-kun, it was nice meeting you. I look forward to seeing you soon" and with that the white-haired boy turned around and began walking away. However he stopped after a few steps, turning his head to gaze at Naruto over his shoulder "Oh and Naruto-kun, you have very…interesting eyes" chuckling ominously, his four eyed glasses gleaming darkly in the same manner as well, the white haired boy continued on his way.

'_So that's him huh?'_ Kabuto thought, his back to Naruto as he disappeared into the woods.

Naruto kept staring at the diminishing silhouette of the mysterious whitehead. Naruto's eyes were narrowed in thought and suspicion, there was something off about that guy, and the comment he had made about his eyes certainly unsettled him. Why would a Shinobi be interested in his name? It didn't make sense, no matter how innocent and nice the guy tried to look.

'_That was Kinda creepy'_, Naruto summed up his thoughts with a long held sigh. At first he had thought the older boy would beat him up for bumping into him or curse and berate him. That was what happened in Konoha after all. Shaking off his troublesome thoughts, the blond began his 'creepster' delayed short walk home with a smile on his face, he just wanted to fill up, take a nice warm bath and bury himself in his Fuinjutsu theories scroll.

* * *

**~~A week later~~**

**(Otogakure no Sato *still doesn't exist*- (Ta no Kuni) **

Orochimaru sat atop his throne-like chair in a dimly coloured room that was only provided light by a few candles.

Before him was an expressionless Danzo who had his back turned to him, the remnants of his Root faction standing a short distance away from him. The old warmonger had his eyes closed and BOTH his hands folded neatly underneath his robe with the baggy sleeves touching.

Orochimaru's slit golden eyes were curiously watching the man who over the past few months since he had stumbled upon his hideout in the land of Rice, had become his 'ally' of sorts. Their allegiance to one another was rather tenuous at best, after all with the history they had and how things had ended in Root, both men had valid reasons not to trust one another.

The Sannin of course wasn't overly jolly over allying himself with someone as paranoid as the man before him prior to the man's defection from Konoha, he knew that the presence of the man would invite unwanted enemies and Danzo had those in spades. Bur alas he went ahead and did it anyway; he believed the benefits of allying with the man were well worth the risks.

He still remembered the day when Danzo and a hundred and thirty of his men came to him five months ago like it was just yesterday.

* * *

_**Flashback- Five months ago **_

_"I would like you to become my ally"_

_Orochimaru gazed at the stoic man who stood before him with a raised eyebrow. He didn't like the man for obvious reasons._

_The man's name was Danzo Shimura. He had invited the man in when he learned he was seeking a meeting with him. He knew of the risks and knew the old fool would never dream of invading his hideout, not with everything the Sannin knew about him and could do against him._

_In all his time in Konoha and even after defecting he had never understood the man and even now he didn't._

_Everything that Danzo did perplexed him greatly; whether from getting involved in international affairs as he did with the original Akatsuki, ordering the mass massacring of clans, and killing everything that could remotely be considered a threat to Konoha, no matter how minimal it is. It seemed the man's paranoia was bordering on the levels of insanity and coming from him, that wasn't a compliment._

_Orochimaru had then come to the conclusion that he wouldn't be surprised by everything the crazy old former elder would do. That was before today and now and the same man stood before him._

_"What did you just say?" Orochimaru stared at the man with a surprised look, having come to the conclusion that he hadn't heard right._

_"I wish for us to become allies" the man repeated the statement he had previously said in the same monotonous and without blinking._

_Orochimaru gazed at the man before him, his slit golden eyes blinking and blinking and blinking before he chuckled ominously at seeing the serious expression on the man's face. Sometimes Danzo just said the most utterly stupidest things you could never expect from a man like him. The man was so unlike him in most ways, Danzo was always so serious and dull, but he certainly made things fun with his unpredictability._

_The Sannin leant forward from his chair, a half-interested look on his face "Oh, and what would I get in return for allying myself to you Danzo?"_

_"Hiruzen's death and whatever else you may wish" the almost robotic reply shocked the Sannin who recoiled a bit._

_The Sannin smirked, knowing the next statement would sour the stoic expression on the man's face "Well you do know that I want to destroy Konoha don't you?"_

_Danzo just kept looking at the Sannin as if he was looking past him "Yes and I will assist you in doing so"_

_Saying Orochimaru was shocked was putting it lightly, he was bewildered. Out of all the crazy things that he expected Danzo to sprout out the minute he stepped on his porch, what he just said was the craziest of them all. Not because the snake Sannin believed Konoha couldn't be destroyed, no far from it actually since he himself had been plotting Konoha's downfall for years. No what shocked him about the statement was that Danzo, a man who loved Konoha as much as he loved little boys, had just said he wanted to ally with him, a traitor to his beloved Konoha and two said he wished to invade Konoha with him._

_So none could really blame the Sannin for being shocked. But his eyes soon narrowed in anger as he gazed at the former elder. "Do not take me for a fool Danzo, you and I both know that you would never contribute to the downfall of Konoha as you so bluntly declare. You hope to betray me in the midst of it all don't you?" he chuckled at the end of his statement._

_Danzo didn't share in his amusement however as he just remained aloof as always "Well perhaps but we both know you are too clever to fall for any trap i may set your way and besides, the Konoha I want you to destroy is Hiruzen's. Mine will be rebuilt from the ruins of what was once the greatest village of the five and will be made into an even stronger superpower than before. One that will conquer the elemental nations"_

_"You're playing a very dangerous game old man, I like it." The Sannin gave a large predatory grin, licking his lips with a long tongue, his golden eyes gleaming in the dark room and drawing a small smile from Danzo as well "However, should you betray me Danzo I promise you that not even those lovely Sharingan you have will save you" the Sannin's smile just widened at seeing the elder man's eyes narrow._

_The smile quickly fell from Danzo's face and he glared intensely at the pale skinned man who just continued smiling widely, his smile stretching his pale face to the point of his canines becoming visible "Are you threatening me Orochimaru?"_

_Chuckling childishly Orochimaru just shrugged as if he had said the most innocent of things "Perhaps I am or perhaps not"_

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

Suffice to say, since that day he and the former Konoha elder had been making plans to accomplish their common goals and individual goals. The Sannin was glad for once for aligning himself with the man because with his help, Otogakure was no longer a mere idea but was growing into a cluster of hideouts and given a few more years would become a fully-fledged hidden village. They were securing more weapons, conquering more and more of Rice country and gaining more territory of the country.

In just five months they had nearly won over the whole country and it helped now that the new Daimyo was more or less a pawn of theirs.

Although Orochimaru could care less about Danzo's ambitions to restructure Konoha by becoming its Hokage immediately after its 'destruction', and to conquer the five great nations. He somehow found himself curious of the man's intentions and fixation with the runaway Jinchuriki of Konoha, the son of the man whom he loathed and respected.

The boy called Naruto Uzumaki.

The Sannin knew the boy's last name couldn't be a coincidence but that wasn't enough to warrant his attention.

From Danzo's brief mention of him, the boy was apparently quiet powerful. Although a little rough around the edges, but with enough training could rival and possibly surpass his father. The Sannin was however more intrigued by the type of attack, a powerful one that is, that his 'ally' had briefly mentioned the boy used. Gravity Ninjutsu. That was a field the Sannin had never ventured into, not because of uninterest but rather because it was impossible, at least without a bloodline if the Sannin had to guess. So because of that the notorious Nuke-nin had gained a sudden interest in Naruto.

The Sannin gazed at Danzo who was quietly gazing into the distance of the dark room. He inwardly sighed; sometimes he wondered why he had aligned himself with this man. Danzo was no fun at all, in fact you could get more emotion out of a rock than you would out the former elder of Konoha. And Orochimaru didn't like overly serious people, and Danzo, well he transcended the boundary of seriousness. It was as if the man had no people skills at all, he had locked himself in a hole way too long but the least he could was hold conversation.

Days spent with the man made Orochimaru realise that hanging out and peeping on women with Jiraiya when they were younger was the most entertaining thing to do compared to well… this, although he always pretended to not enjoy it back then.

He sighed inwardly again, how he wished Kabuto was here. Speaking of which he wondered when the boy would return. He had been sent out to Nami no Kuni to look for a young Hyouton user he had discovered was in the area and rumoured to be travelling with the notorious Kirigakure no Sato Nuke-nin Zabuza Momochi. The Sannin hoped to add the two to his 'collection' of playthings.

"Danzo-sama" A new muffled voice broke the Sannin from his thoughts and his gaze travelled to the owner of the voice. A kneeling member of Danzo's Root who had just entered into the room accompanied by five others.

The state they were in clearly displayed the obvious notion that they had just returned from a mission.

"Yes?" Danzo replied monotonously, gazing down at the bowing men before him. He had sent them on a mission to search for and find the Kyuubi Jinchuriki.

The leader handed a scroll toward the man who unfolded it and read the contents silently. The man's furrowing of his brows was the only indication he was displeased with what he was reading.

"You failed to find him?" the captain nodded nervously, feeling uncomfortable under his commander's intense scrutinizing gaze, whose voice was tinged slightly with anger.

Tentatively the man spoke "I apologise Danzo-sama, but we searched all designated locations on the scroll and we couldn't find him. We could've searched all the places he could have gone but we were cautious of venturing out into the open without fear of being spotted by some of Jiraiya-sama's spies. He is looking for the boy as well my lord"

Danzo sighed inwardly, he contemplated killing the men before him for failing him, but couldn't since he had no more orphans to expend. For now he had to work with the failures he had until he could get his hands on Naruto.

"Oh my Jiraiya-kun? It has been a long time since I saw him. It seems he doesn't care about me anymore. Anyway i wonder who will find him first, you or my resourceful idiotic former teammate but with your situation I highly doubt it" Orochimaru's mocking tone chirped in, his lilting tone adding further irk to Danzo's mood.

Danzo tossed the paper away and tossed an annoyed glare toward the pale skinned Sannin "That may be likely, however I will find the boy, the Kyuubi will be mine. Hiruzen and Jiraiya must be even more foolish than ever if they believe they can prevent me from claiming the boy. He will be found and I WILL FIND HIM"

"Well then you're in luck" a soft new voice tore into the fray, snapping the attention of all and Orochimaru who recognised it instantly toward the owner who stood before the door, all in his bespectacled glory, his glasses glowing ominously. He pushed his glasses up with a finger, a devious smile on his face.

"Because I know where he is"

* * *

Naruto dodged his opponent's punch, retaliating with one of his own which connected with his opponent's face and instead of having them reeling on the ground in pain; they simply puffed out of existence in a cloud of smoke.

He kept his blindfolded stare ahead, sensing as four more enemies charged toward him again, settling into his own Taijutsu stance, with his feet slightly bent, his left foot brought forward while his upper half lent backwards slightly, the blond got ready to defend. His similarly blond haired opponents all attacked at once, forcing the blond into a corner as he dodged and blocked their well organised and flawless attacks.

He had learnt the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu from his Sensei and so far the blond was praising the genius which had developed the jutsu. He had learned it in the fourth month of training and unlike the Bunshin no jutsu which had been a bane of his existence in his short time in Konoha's academy, this jutsu favoured high Chakra usage and practically no Chakra control at all. The former which he had in spades and the latter which he had impeccably improved in, with the help of his Rinnegan. Although he was limited to only a few clones since unbelievably he could see through them and it was quite disorientating and dangerous. Even now as he sparred with his doppelgangers, he and his clones were sparring blindfolded, working merely with their senses to alleviate the advantage the advantage they would all have over another.

He had been told of the advantage of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu but the blond wanted to do things himself, he only used the clones for physical training, reading and sparing while the rest of his training he did all by himself. He believed the jutsu allowed him to basically cheat his way out of working hard for his own strength.

The blond blocked a kick from a clone however failed to sense as one of his clones crept up behind him and connected with a kick that sent him flying away and tumbling across the ground. Removing a Kunai from his holster the blond plunged it into the ground to stop his harsh skidding across the ground. With a groan, he pulled out his weapon from the ground; the blond heard a whooshing sound and descending toward him. Deftly rolling out of the way of the kick which cracked the ground where he had been standing, causing debris to momentarily fly into the air.

Naruto disappeared in a blur of speed, appearing behind his doppelganger who reacted accordingly to jump over the low kick to his feet from the original, however was surprised as the blond got under him before he sent a long kick that connected with his chin and dispelled him instantly. The blond sensed movement from behind him, he grabbed his opponent's leg as they sent a kick to his chin, mustering all his strength, he swung the doppelganger around before tossing him away however they simply regained their balance and skidded to a stop.

The blond went on the offensive yet again, charging his remaining four opponents; however he and his clones were stopped cold by a shrill scream of fear coming all the way from the house. Recognising the voice as Hotaru's and taking it to mean she was in danger; he wasted no time in taking off, practically flying toward the house. The clones dispelled automatically and the blond shrugged off the influx of information as he hopped from tree to tree in a blur of motion.

As he edged closer he could easily make out hundreds of Chakra signatures that he didn't recognise with his Rinnegan, they were surrounding two Chakra sources that he recognised instantly as his Sensei's and Hotaru's, with the latter's smaller Chakra source held back in a grip by a larger one.

Naruto began panicking slightly at that. All of the strange, signatures were, if Naruto had to guess, Jounin level with one that was slightly above, perhaps the same level as his Sensei, and were all channelling Chakra around the area, and it was suffocating and their Chakra clearly underlined their purpose, to kill his family. The largest Chakra signature held a strange feeling of familiarity to it which the blond couldn't quite place.

Bursting to the scene, Naruto landed in the middle of the crowd of enemies. He looked at Hotaru to see her held in a firm grip by a masked Shinobi, a hand clasped over her mouth with a Kunai pressed to her neck enough that it left a small cut and drew a small trickle of blood. There was a terrified expression in the girl's eyes and the blond could feel anger well up in his veins.

His Sensei was standing in the middle of all the men, who seemed to reach hundred in numbers, a grim expression on his face that was impassive. His body was slightly tense and he was intensely staring at one particular figure clad in a black hooded robe, their hood was covering their head, obstructing any of their facial features from being made out.

It was the one with the larger Chakra source and signature compared to the others, Kage level from what he had read, with their right arm having a much denser Chakra source and ten smaller ones along the length of their entire right arm, which ironically had a very dark coloured Chakra but wasn't as dense as the rest of the Chakra along the arm. Taking in those features into consideration, recognition struck in Naruto's mind and his heart nearly exploded out of his chest as his anger gave way to fear.

Naruto's breath hitched as his body turned cold, his legs wobbled slightly and absently he backed away surprising his Sensei. There was no killing intent being channelled however the blond knew that with the person before him, killing intent was unnecessary. Their darkened Chakra was frightening enough as it was.

The figure, whose back was turned to Naruto, Higure and the others, slowly took off their hood, revealing spiky but somewhat shaggy black hair. Turning around, their coal black eye and single red three tomoe eye which spun calmly met Naruto's rippled purple ones and Naruto's rippled ones widened as his eyes met that of his forgotten greatest nightmare.

A stoic, expressionless look on their face, which had an X-shaped scar on their chin. The man spoke.

"I have found you, Kyuubi Jinchuriki"

* * *

**I love the ending, did you also enjoy it? **

**Guess what ? Danzo's 'I WILL FIND HIM' dialogue was recommended to me by Legion343, it's a quote from the man of steel, made by the kryptonian militarist Zod. Didn't use it exactly the way he hoped but I figured it fit. But thumbs up to Legion for that and for sporting the similarities between Danzo and the supervillain.**

**Leave a review and say what you thought of the chapter. This is kind of two chapters in one by this story's standards but this is the beginning of lengthier chapters for this story. **

**Note: One thing I'm not particularly good at is writing battles; even if I do have the mental image** **and the battle planned out I struggle with it and I often feel they lack that killer 'wickedness' that just makes readers go 'well fuck that's freaking badass'.**

**It's a defect of mine and I acknowledge that and have been trying to improve but if you guys ever feel that you can contribute, I'm open to ANY suggestions and assistance you might provide me with.**

**The next chapter will be a heavily battle chapter (My first true battle chapter), and I promise i will not disappoint. **

**Cheer, I'm out.**

**-The Disturbed Immortal** -


	8. Uzumaki no Tsukai and Unsubtle Glimpses

**Naruto isn't mine**...

**Note: Some of the techniques used in this Chapter are my own, created for a powerful OC to distinguish them and make them unique…**

**I didn't check for any grammatical mistakes or spelling errors because I used the weekend to type out this whole chapter…WITH THE SPEED OF LIGHT that is. This is a slightly longer chapter, hope it is to your liking…**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Uzumaki no ****Tsukai ****and Not so Subtle Glimpses**

* * *

**(Konohagakure no Sato, Academy)**

A lone brown haired man stood near a window, his dark-eyed gaze piercing absently through the window and focused on an unoccupied swing in the background of the academy training grounds.

It was already late into the afternoon and Iruka Umino, a Chuunin instructor for Konoha's academy had remained in class to mark off some of the students' work. He had planned on marking off the work however he simply couldn't quite get around to it. So he had simply let himself be warped into his thoughts and mused on the cause of his unrest.

Naruto Uzumaki….

For months he had wondered what had happened to the blond hared, blue-eyed troublemaker that was his student Naruto Uzumaki. In the first week that the boy had seemingly disappeared he had dismissed his absence from school, chalking it up to the boy's love for trouble and his apparent hatred for the learning environment. However his thoughts were proven wrong as another week passed and another and another and then months came and went without any sighting of the boy. This was followed by his assistant Mizuki's strange disappearance around the same time as well which led him to believe something was incredibly wrong.

A part of him while glad to teach a less troublesome class, the part of him that blamed the blond for his parents' death, had been glad to hear that, figuring teaching and managing the class would now be a bit less bothersome. However he had hoped he would come back. The brief out of school interaction with the blond having showed him the truth…that the blond was suffering deep inside and hid his pain behind a well-crafted mask of boisterousness and happiness. He had finally figured it out, had finally seen something in the way Naruto acted and presented himself that struck a chord of similarity within him. He hadn't needed a mind walker from the Yamanaka to see underneath the perfect mask of Naruto Uzumaki, but simply needed experience. One look at Naruto's eyes the day before his disappearance while he softly and purposelessly swung on the swing in the background had been enough to tell him that Naruto had suffered the same fate as he had, albeit on a grander scale. He knew loneliness, pain and most painfully, and unlike him didn't know acknowledgement his whole entire life.

For a long time he had merely thought he could put out Naruto's existence and like everyone else, pretend he wasn't there and simply focus on his own things but he struggled after that day those five months ago. The blond reminded him so much of himself that it was almost unbearable to watch. While he had also constructed a prankster identity to gain the social attention he had lost prior to the death of his parents during his childhood, the people merely saw it as the actions of a poor orphan with no one to teach him better and he was comforted for that and not reprimanded, but it was more out of pity than anything else. By contrast Naruto's actions were merely seen as those of an evil demon and ironically enough, the blond didn't wish to be pitied but merely sought any sort of acknowledgement, whether positive or negative. He made the people see him but his actions only served to aggravate the persecution and loathing the people had for him.

He pretended to take it well but he clearly wasn't from what the Chuunin saw by the look on his face while he sat on that swing after being kicked out of class. So because of that on that night as he went to sleep, unaware of what was happening to the blond, the Chuunin instructor had decided to try to unravel Uzumaki Naruto, to bring out the best in him and give him a chance, But it had been a little too late it seemed.

Naruto didn't show up to school the following day and so did Mizuki….

He had feared the worst, believing the people had finally done away with the boy whom while he was neutral towards and only slightly harbouring a small pinch of dislike towards, never wished any ill-will upon and could only hope the young orphan was alright. He had also gone around the village, looking for him and asking people if they had seen him. However most people in the village were sensitive about the issue and would merely look away shamefully whenever he asked whether they had seen the boy, mostly those from the Shinobi council committee.

That had further elevated his suspicion of the fate of the Uzumaki and he knew the only person who could provide him with the desired answers was the Hokage. Iruka was worried about the safety of one of his student and he would be damned if anyone tries to stave him off the topic. Sadly, he had gotten what he bargained for and was told of the grim details that led to the blond Uzumaki's disappearance and his disgust for the village and his former friend Mizuki grew upon realisation of what truly conspired. While it was revealed to be a village secret of massive proportions warranting immediate execution if revealed, he had been shocked to hear of what happened to his former student. Very few had learned the true fate of one Uzumaki Naruto and most of his classmates and the younger generation of Konoha were not privy to the real reasons behind his sudden disappearance. Even Chuunin level-nin were almost not aware of the circumstances surrounding Naruto's disappearance, he had been merely told out of favour by the Hokage and because he was Naruto's teacher. Most children merely assumed that the blond had quit school.

There hadn't been the expected village-wide responses of 'Good Riddance' from everyone as some seemed somber and sensitive about the issue.

It was a shame and Konoha truly had reason to be ashamed of what has become of it and thus the secret of the true whereabouts and fate of Naruto was kept on a tight leash and everyone was tight-lipped about it, considering now that they knew who he was but most simply refused to accept it.

He had left and Mizuki was dead, killed by the very same boy. His innocence finally stripped from him and his actions having enforced the belief in most of the civilian populace's hearts that he was a true demon. Nevertheless, he was extremely disgusted with the actions of his former friend Mizuki and it just went to show him that you could never truly claim to know anyone in this world; people can show you their teeth in an exaggerated smile and just as quickly stab you. It was so terrifyingly true because an enemy lying in wait and hiding behind a smile and mask of politeness was far too dangerous than a visibly hostile enemy, and Mizuki had been that. Now distinguishing between friend and enemy was becoming difficult.

The Konoha Shinobi faction also expressed clear grievances about the threat the boy could pose, whether directly or indirectly. There were many scenarios regarding Naruto, ranging from fear of the boy being consumed by hatred for Konoha and eventually seeking vengeance against the village to the possibility of kidnapping and being used against Konoha by either one of the other Hidden Villages. Whatever the belief, both scenarios were highly likely and that exerted an obvious wave of unsettlement on the Shinobi of the Jinchuuriki-less hidden village. There was a serious uproar in the village and crisis after crisis followed, from Naruto's self-imposed banishment to Danzo-sama's defection; it was obvious that Konohagakure wasn't as settled and peaceful as it would like to believe. He could understand the need to remain tight-lipped about Naruto's disappearance as other villages could learn of it and try to abduct him and whatever the case, they knew if either Iwagakure or Kumogakure no Sato learned Konoha's Jinchuuriki had ran away from the village and was wandering the world without protection, they could try to manipulate him, turn his hatred of Konoha into a fuel that drives him to seek vengeance and ultimately destroy Konoha.

Again he couldn't believe the case involving Naruto had caused such widespread commotion, but he supposed it was Naruto's ultimate and final troublesome act. He had left behind an unwilling path of destruction so bad that it left the village greatly dishevelled. Unlike his painting of various personal ANBU underwear and possessions, this time he had a permanent mark with which to remember him by; the crater outside the village.

So now here he was, five months later, and still staring at that swing which the blond had immortalized in his opinion, the swing where Naruto's mask came off and he was laid bare for all to see. The swing where his vulnerability reared its head and he didn't have to hide how he felt. In a matter of fact tone, the swing was Naruto's friend of sorts, it signified his loneliness and lack of friends because the first thing you think about upon seeing a child on a swing, you expect to see a friend or parent pushing them, it understood his loneliness as it hung suspended from the tree, the only one of its creation in the area. Even among his peers, the swing was known as 'Naruto's swing' and no one dared venture near it.

Iruka sighed, rubbing at his horizontally scarred nose as he tore his reluctant gaze from the swing and turned away from the window. Dark clouds shrouded the atmosphere and he knew the heavens would open up very soon. It was strange because rainfall at this time of the year in Konoha was unusual. Shaking his head yet again with a sigh, he chalked it up to the list of unusual things that had been happening around Konoha lately. His work awaited him but for now he could only hope Naruto was alright.

A sudden feeling of foreboding hit him, making him stop but he dismissed it a moment after and sat down to begin his work, fucking rain be damned.

* * *

**(Hyuuga Clan Compound, Main Household)**

It was pouring harshly in Konoha, great black thunder clouds hung luminously over the village like a veil. It was quite rare and unusual to see the village experience in the middle of winter like this.

The Hyuuga compound was expectantly large, spanning a respectable distance with many Japanese styled households. Most of the houses were very well built and decorated elegantly while some were very simple. The Hyuuga clan was widely known and regarded as the current strongest clan in Konoha and the elemental nations prior to the Uchiha clan massacre; their ocular prowess was feared and desired throughout the elemental nations as all members of the clan inherited the Doujutsu of the clan, the Byakugan. With these eyes, they were given a 360 range/degree vision, could see through solid objects, can see the Chakra circulatory system and it also acted as a medium in helping them in the effective use of their clan style, the Jyuuken which allowed them to close off their opponents' Chakra points by expelling Chakra from their fingers.

However all in the clan wasn't black and white though. In fact if one were to learn of the truth of the divided state of the Hyuuga, they would be repulsed by the ugly truth about the great clan.

The Hyuuga was divided into two; there was the main branch and the branch family. Only those from the main branch were allowed to become leaders of the clan and those from the branch family served them as loyal servants, bluntly putting it, slaves, despite their familial connections as they were branded with Juinjutsu to control them. To some in the main branch, they believed fate had dealt them a harsh hand, born to serve and enslaved by a seal to ensure their co-operation was how all branch members saw themselves and because of that, they harboured a great deal of hatred toward the main family, despite all of them being of the same clan and blood.

But moving on from that…

It was quite in the clan and the afternoon was approaching its end, the rain had started coming down and most had retreated to the confines of their households. A few Hyuuga stood before the large gate entry into the compound mounting guard; while relatively comfortable under the small porch- shelter connected to the gates.

Inside a large traditional looking Japanese house, in a Dojo-like room with wooden flooring and various folded tatami mats lining the floor supposedly for sitting, a silhouette could be made out standing near a large Shoji. Her pale lavender white eyes gazing into the now soaked and pouring distance with an unfocused stare, her searching gaze flickered about and concern was clearly etched in her pale pupil-less eyes. Her fingers were poking nervously against one another habitually.

The young girl was wearing an elegant loose-fitting white robe with different coloured trimmings, with a fishnet underneath. Her short dark blue hair was styled elegantly and kept short with chin-length bangs framing her face.

Another presence was quietly sitting a short-distance behind her, their body held in a perfectly refined and mastered Seiza position, their knees sinking into a small tatami mat beneath them. His face was expressionless at best and his eyes while appearing closed, were roaming the figure of the young girl intently.

Hiashi merely sighed deeply as he continued staring at his eldest daughter Hinata, who reminded him painfully of his deceased wife. It had almost become a force of habit, he was always watching Hinata but this time it was different. This time it was out of concern that mere scrutiny. Ever since Minato's son left the village, Hinata's self-confidence issues had reared their head once more and increased dramatically. He knew about his daughter's admiration and childish for the blond, which given a few years would've blossomed into true feelings, he thought with time Hinata would fall to the sway of her friends and stay away from Naruto but she persevered on but simply couldn't muster the confidence to befriend him. She had once told him about how the boy had defended her from bullies and had asked why everyone hated the boy as her bodyguard Ko Hyuga had told her never to associate herself with the boy, 'subtly' telling her 'it', not a he, was trouble and a filthy commoner.

Suffice to say he had never given her a clear answer but he had encouraged her to befriend him, hoping his fiery and positive attitude could rub off on her and also for Naruto as the boy clearly needed a friend. However Hinata simply struggled to do it and merely hesitated at the last moment; either just greeting the boy stutteringly and leaving only to quietly follow him later on. It was almost embarrassing to take in as a father but her mother had also been the same. However he knew he was the reason for Hinata's lack of self-confidence after he pushed her too hard after her mother's passing. He blamed the elders for pestering him about grooming her for the position of clan head but mostly he blamed himself for not being man enough to defend her.

Now her only source of strength and inspiration had left and he never imagined his leaving would affect her so badly. Now everyday she would just stand there and stare outside, training didn't interest her and Hanabi now defeated her without any effort in their daily spars. He simply didn't know what to do anymore, he couldn't comfort her because he wasn't good with that 'stuff', Hyuga had to be proud and rarely show emotion after all and his father had extremely buried him neck-deep about proper Hyuga etiquette, his younger twin-brother was the one who retained some measure of kind-heartedness. It was no wonder why his sacrifice and subsequent death hit Neji very hard, because he was a caring father, unlike him who struggled to show emotion due to fear of 'going out of character'.

'_Namikaze, wherever you are, I hope you return very soon. Kami-sama knows you're the only one who can help my daughter'_ he sighed and closed his eyes for real this time as he went back to meditating.

While Hiashi meditated, Hinata was immersed with her thoughts as well, her heart was telling her something bad was about to go down. She knew it somehow involved Naruto and she was praying desperately to Kami-sama to protect the blond and make him strong enough to fight off this obstacle…her Naruto instincts never failed or were they ever wrong for that matter.

Clasping her palms together she sent another silent prayer to the heavens _'Please look after Naruto-kun and keep him strong and safe, Kami-sama' _

Almost as if in answer to her sincere prayer, a loud crack and booming thunder roared above the village…

* * *

**(Namishu, Nami no Kuni)**

"I have found you, Kyuubi Jinchuuriki"

"Y-y-you…" the trembling voice of the blond Uzumaki who was backing away slightly could be made out.

The air was grim, heavy and an intolerable veil of murderous intent hung around the area.

None dared to move as the wind howled and whistled past them, fluttering their clothing softly, afraid that a single ounce of movement might provoke a very instinctual and unpredictable reaction. Shinobi were after all fidgety people, paranoia was something they lived with and when in a tight position, one had to be very delicate so as not to bring about a much undesired reaction.

The hostile group's members were all emotionlessly glaring at the Uzumaki duo, visibly tensed and showing that the slightest movement would result in the premature end of Hotaru. Speaking of the 11 year old brunette, she was shivering in fear, not quite used to being exposed to Shinobi killing intent as she was still held in a vice-grip by the black-haired masked ANBU, a Tanto still pointed to her neck and drawing a thin line of blood. The Uzumaki were at the mercy of the enemy as things stood and they knew that in order to save the girl, they would have to jump when they said so.

Naturally Higure was the first of the encompassed duo to shrug off the uneasy feelings and intentions being directed at them by the masked people. He schooled his features, glaring intensely at the supposed leader of this very hostile group. Contemplation clearly darting in his mind at the hostility of the situation and the possibility of it evolving into a full-on confrontation, he looked toward Naruto and wasn't surprised to see him clearly affected by all this despite his arduous training.

He looked at the men before him, focusing his stare on the figure of the leader; he of course knew the man and had been surprised to see him. It had been years since he had last seen the man but he would never forget that face, or those cunning eyes.

"Danzo Shimura" clear recognition was in the redhead's voice, sparking an immediate reaction from Naruto who looked at him, surprise in his rippled-purple eyes.

Danzo gazed at the redheaded man and merely grunted in annoyance "I never thought I would stumble upon you in this lifetime…. Uzumaki no Tsukai" the man's statement drew several surprised stares from everyone, even his own men. They knew who the Uzumaki no Tsukai was; after all, Danzo made it his priority to get them well covered in the history of Shinobi, to prepare them for any situation. The man was a legendary Uzumaki, a master of Suiton and Raiton Ninjutsu and was said to be undefeated on Uzushiogakure no Sato, he was widely referred to as the 'last leader' of the Uzumaki clan. Believed to be able to bend the very massive natural eddies that surrounded the island to his will and could literally go up against the Nidaime Hokage in a Suiton Ninjutsu battle on a level-scale. So one wouldn't say they would be relishing a battle with him, even though his body hadn't seen battle in a long time and had dulled considerably with old age.

Naruto unfortunately had a confused expression on his face, while he had read about the legend of the man, what little was left of it; he never imagined it would be his mysterious Sensei. His interest in the legend of the man had been sparked by the very same man who told him a story about 'the Suiton master' during his training. He focused his gaze on the redhead, still struggling to believe what he had just heard. "Ojii-san is that true?" Naruto asked and only received a nod of confirmation which told him Higure wouldn't be answering any more questions from him.

"I can't say I am still befitting of that title, considering what happened to my beloved country and clan. However, I do wonder what you are here for and the meaning of all this. You wouldn't happen to have lost something here would you, Shinobi no Yami?" Naruto glanced at his sensei in awe, surprised at the level of calm he exuded which was nullifying the murderous veil all around them. The way the man spoke with Naruto's 'arch-nemesis' showed the two knew each other, long before he was even born and all this.

"Well I suppose I have. I was disappointed to hear of your downfall, your clan always did provide us with the perfect hosts for the Kyubi. The last one was a disappointment and dismissed her Bijuu's power, but her offspring will do just fine, he will become the ultimate Jinchuriki" Danzo's figure remained as it were the day he embraced the darkness, emotionless as he addressed the revealed legendary figure.

Higure frowned at that and stole a well-hidden glance at Naruto to see whether he had understood that last part but relaxed a bit upon seeing him still dazed with confusion "Perhaps but I will not let it happen, Naruto is not going anywhere"

Danzo raised an eyebrow at that, gazing at the former Uzushio leader "Oh? And why not? After all you were the one who so kindly offered the previous Jinchuriki to us, why can't you offer us her child as well? It is a cycle that has to continue from your family-line after all, the agreement 'you' signed with Konoha" if Higure was irked by the last statement, he was visibly angered by this one as his eyes narrowed dangerously, the only indication of his anger.

"Danzo, I do not wish to fight you…I have already seen too much bloodshed to last a whole lifetime" at that, the temperature dropped rapidly and even the schooled features of Danzo were disrupted as the man's chakra leaked "but should you push this issue a little too far then you will die" Higure glared at the man, not paying attention to the shivering blond beside him or the sweating porcelain-masked ANBU surrounding them. "Now tell your man to release Hotaru and we can forget this whole ordeal"

Danzo glared at the man, releasing his own murderous intent as well "Don't presume to believe you hold the advantage here Uzumaki…you haven't seen battle in decades and in that time I've continued assimilating and adding small gifts to my growing strength. You have waned in strength and can't defeat me as you are. I am not one for diplomacy and I will only warn you this once…hand me the Jinchuriki or the girl dies"

For once Higure didn't give an answer to that, he knew he was caught in a tight situation. It was either he sacrifice the closest thing he ever had to a granddaughter or throw Naruto. He knew he would never choose either scenario but what could he do, he almost wished he was dealing with Shinobi pirates at this moment, not a hardcore militarist who obviously had nothing but terrible intensions planned for Naruto, even if his fate wouldn't be death. He cast a well-hidden at the figure holding Hotaru and the other ones close by; he prided himself as being rational, calm and a level headed individual but even his mind was running a marathon trying to conjure up a solution to this problem. He knew Danzo wouldn't go back on his threat, and he simply couldn't afford to lose neither Hotaru nor Naruto.

While the redhead was mulling over on what to do to salvage the life of Hotaru and keep Naruto out of Danzo's cunning reach. The blond was also mulling over his options. _'Should I give myself up? I know Sensei would never do that but I can't let Hotaru-chan die because of me. I have to do something but if I tried to save her then that guy would kill her. I'd rather be taken to Konoha than let someone I love die because I was selfish…I just can't'_ pulling himself together Naruto felt the tremble in his knees lessen, a determined expression entered his eyes _'I guess this is it then…I'm sorry sensei'_

"Alright" the sudden response halted time in the tense atmosphere, however it wasn't the voice Danzo was expecting to hear but he smiled nonetheless "I'll come with you" Higure's heart froze and his eyes fell on Naruto.

"Naruto! What do you think you are doing? Do you know wha-" he was cut off by the blond as he merely put a hand on his own and smiled a sad forced smile.

"It's okay Sensei; I don't care what happens to me as long as Hotaru-chan and you are safe. I…I've never had a family before and I got to experience that with you guys and I will never trade it for anything, but I will never let someone I love die if I can do something about it. Even if it means sacrificing myself" he looked at Hotaru to see her looking at him with a flood of tears in her beautiful green eyes, she was shaking her head almost as if telling him not to do it, even if she died but the blond wouldn't have it and merely grinned at her.

"Magomusuko, I…can't let you do that, I have lost enough as it is. My daughter, my wife, my whole clan and now you, I will not allow it" the man had a stern expression on his face, showing the blond how serious he was.

Naruto looked down at that, whether from hearing the man calling him his grandson or his objection; however it was soon revealed why as a few tears dropped from his eyes. His heart was screaming at him, telling him this was his chance to be happy at last but his mind asked him at what cost would that happiness come and at the end the blond settled for the most rational scenario "I-I'm happy…I got to know you…goodbye Ojii-san" Naruto walked toward Danzo with quick steps and a cocky smirk spread across the man's face at the turn of things.

Higure reached out with his hand to stop the blond but Naruto didn't dare look back and stopped before the former Konoha advisor and glared at him heatedly.

"Alright here I am you freak, now let her go" Naruto intensely glared at the man who merely shrugged.

Naruto looked on, Chakra circulating inside the man's arm and a small seal appeared in his palm before he slapped it atop Naruto's forehead "Juinjutsu: Ne Chuuki no Jutsu" Naruto's body glowed and then a terrible scorching hot sensation racked the blonde's body and fiery-orange marks clawed and licked up along his entire body, he felt his body freeze up as Danzo's cursed seal began to take effect and the glowing stopped and only black marks remained across his entire body, covering his face, arms and hands.

'_I can't move…what kind of jutsu is this?' _The blond grunted in a fruitless effort to move.

Danzo let out a victorious sigh before he looked at Naruto with an intense stare and grunted in distaste at the tear streaks along the blonde's face, '_Now I will destroy that foolish sentimentality that you hold_' he thought darkly before he gazed at Higure and his eyes glinted dangerously as he grabbed Naruto's paralysed form by the shirt and tossed him toward one of his men who caught the blond.

"L-let h-her go, y-you g-got what y-you wanted right?" the paralysed Naruto grunted while in the grip of a black-haired Anbu, one of his eyes closed from the strain on his body.

"Fool, I had no intention of doing so. What I want…is to kill these emotions you seem to hold on to. Now I will eradicate that foolish impulsiveness and sentimentality that you hold. I will not have any emotional soldiers in my force…Hyou" he called out to one of his foundation ANBU, a man wearing a large cloak. It was the same one holding Hotaru and the man nodded and Higure tensed while Naruto felt the thumping of his heart increase rapidly. "Kill the girl; she will just be a hindrance to his progress in Root"

"NO DANZO!" Higure screamed out as he forced his body to move as he saw the porcelain-masked man's hand which was holding the Katana to Hotaru's neck tensed as time seemed to slow down.

Everything happened in slow motion almost as if to prolong the terrible feelings of agony in the Uzumaki duo's hearts.

Higure was springing toward Hotaru as fast as he could, however he knew he wouldn't make it…

Hotaru closed her eyes in acceptance of her fate, in the meantime while hot tears flowed down her face…

And Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the man's Tanto-holding hand shift from Hotaru's neckline, rearing his Tanto-holding hand back and plunging the steel through her back, impaling her like marshmallow as the Steel emerged out her chest. The brunette's green eyes merely widened and a dull glint entered them; the man ripped the Tanto out of her figure and tossed her blood stained form to the ground unceremoniously.

In that moment time seemed to stop for Naruto and Higure and then everyone saw red, a sickening spurt of blood flowed from the girl's chest, creating a large red patch on her silky white shirt and falling to the ground in agonising drips. Her form was still flying through the air slowly and before her petite body could harshly hit the ground, she was caught by the sprinting Higure as time returned to normal yet again. The girl's eyes wide and disbelieving, she tried to speak only managing to cough out blood. The man stared back at Danzo with murderous eyes while Naruto merely looked on shocked.

"You see now, emotions will bring you ties which hold your abilities back and bear emotional pain. Let go of them, kill them, erase them and you shall not know pain any longer" Naruto wasn't particularly listening to the man, his whole undivided attention was focused on the form of his surrogate sister. His eyes were still set in the very same terrified expression as before and Danzo looked to completely seal the deal "Now kill the other one and we can leave"

Naruto felt red-hot rage burn his insides; his body was cold with disbelief and his rippled-purple eyes wide in terror and shock. He stared helplessly as Hotaru's body was safely caught by his Sensei, and she gurgled blood, breathing suddenly becoming a chore to her. Naruto's form shook like a leaf, large rivulets of sweat on his face. The black marks on his body began disappearing and his Chakra spiked drastically, drawing the attention of all those around toward him just in time to see the ANBU holding him violently blown away, his body being crushed under the intense gravitational weight exerted on him as just like that time in Konoha, Naruto exploded.

Danzo and everyone else covered their eyes as the influx of Chakra from the blond was blinding and the technique forced them to apply Chakra to their feet lest they be blown away as well, which meant they couldn't move to stop Naruto in time.

Wasting no time, Naruto sprung toward Higure and Hotaru, stopping before them and gazing on at the stabbed brunette who smiled sadly at him. Higure looked at Naruto sadly as the blond fell on his knees and took the girl's hand and squeezed it. Handing him Hotaru's bloodied form, Higure stood up with intent and a murderous glint in his aged purple eyes. He gazed at the monster that he believed was Shimura Danzo, and knew today he would kill the man. Normally he abhorred needless killing but there wouldn't be anything needless about what he was going to do to Danzo and his Root.

He heard a choked sob come from behind him as Naruto conversed with the dying Hotaru. Knowing that the distraught blond might be in danger during the battle, the redhead ran through a long chain of handseals, "Kodai Shitai no Shoujinheki" clasping his hands together, a large purple structure flickered into existence, encompassing Naruto and Hotaru's forms. The barrier was relatively large, being the size of a house in width and height.

Finally satisfied with his work and happy it would be able to keep Naruto out of harm's way or capture. The old Uzumaki summoned a Ninjato from out of nowhere. Getting the invitation, three of Danzo's ANBU charged the old redhead who gripped his weapon in reverse grip and got into a loose stance. He blocked a swipe from one of the Root, lashing out with a kick that connected with man's jaw, sending him flying, he swivelled around in time to dodge out-of-the-way of another two additional swipes from the other two, catching both their arms, he kneed the both of them in the gut before with surprising strength and agility for one his age, threw them both in the direction of the barrier.

Upon coming into contact with the tall structure, the two began screaming their hearts out as small red markings clawed their way their bodies, seemingly eating and licking at their skins sickeningly before their bodies seemingly let out steam. Higure's gaze didn't linger on the suffering and spasming ANBU as he charged the larger group, his armour jingling a clanking tone in tune with his high-speed movement. He met the first wave of masked opponents as the others held back, he lashed out with a slash which the man blocked, pushing the ANBU back he swivelled out of the way as a slash from above, and retorted with a high kick man's face which had the desired effect of knocking the man unconscious.

The redhead dodged under another horizontal slash before slapping an explosive tag to the man's back and jumping away just as the seal went off, exploding in large globs of blood and body parts. The redhead was working on autopilot while being surrounded by a cluster of opponents, his sword was moving at blinding speed as he slashed and skewered opponent after opponent, bodies falling around him like leaves in the season of fall. Large patches of blood covered the grassy-covered ground, staining it a glistening red.

Seeing the fate of their comrades, more of the porcelain-masked individuals flew toward Higure, who dodged slash after slash and swipe after swipe. Ten more came barrelling toward him, and the redhead dodged and blocked all of their attacks. They stopped and surrounded the man in a circular ring and out of the corner of his eyes he caught two Kunai flying his way. Catching both of them by their ring with some impressive skill, he angularly threw them back in different directions almost as if not aiming for his targets. However the steely projectiles curved and the circle of ANBU surrounding Higure tensed…

**Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!**

The two Kunai plunged through the heads of the first two targets, and flew through them, before piercing through the next two as the kunai continued their curving-angle trajectory. The Kunai didn't stop, and flew straight through them, before curving slightly almost as if being controlled by strings and skewering three others through the head as well.

The entire circle of masked opponents surrounding Higure fell to the ground dramatically, the Kunai hit the last man and finally the two Kunai met the other in the middle, creating a 'clang' sound before they fell to the ground. The entirety of Danzo's ANBU and the man himself looked at the man with a perplexed expression at his skill to curve Kunai, but they didn't linger on their thoughts too long as they saw the man jump back and five more flew after him.

His opponents engaged him in another brief dance of Kenjutsu as he dodged and blocked their refined attacks. Seven more surrounded him and threw their Tanto at the redhead who disappeared and reappeared above their heads, a scroll in his hands. Swiping his blood on the scroll quickly, an enormous fireball warped itself out of the scroll, catching them by surprise as it burned them, their screams continuing on into space.

The redhead jumped back to distance himself from his opponents, his breathing was short and came out in quick short puffs. Over 80 more of Danzo's Root remained and he hadn't even used Ninjutsu yet because of the strain using such techniques would put on his reserves but he knew if he wanted to take care of them quickly he would have to wipe them out very fast. He was holding back in order to preserve Chakra for his battle with Danzo but he was fighting very skilled Ninja and it was very hard to fight not using his full power. His old age and weary body which hadn't seen battle for very long would get to him very soon and he had to end this battle as soon as possible. He looked toward the barrier and could see Hotaru remarkably still alive and perched on Naruto's lap who was rocking her body comfortingly, his form still shaking and quivering and his eyes glowing with tears.

The man couldn't help but look away at the painful and heart-wrenching familiarity of the scene. He knew how painful it was to see someone you loved like that, Hotaru was young but she had been like a sister to the young blond. She berated, made fun of and mothered Naruto, qualities of a true elder sibling and most importantly she cared, she had come to care for the blond deeply in the months he had been with them. He knew that seeing Hotaru like that would break the blond and he didn't wish to see what would happen when she finally gave in.

Closing his head and drawing in a long breath he decided it was now or never, consequences be damned. Running through more handseals and ending on the snake handseal, all those around him tensed expectantly.

The redhead was now bringing Ninjutsu into the battle.

"Suiton: Hankou no Shinzen'na Junjo" as soon as he finished his speech, Chakra flared violently out of and around the man, blinding those around him. Out of curiosity Danzo channelled Chakra to his Sharingan because truth be told he was becoming worried now. He knew that he couldn't afford to underestimate Higure despite his withered skills. What the man saw fascinated him, the redhead was channelling a large influx of superheated Suiton Chakra into the air.

The Chakra coalesced in the air and steam could be seen gathering rapidly and suddenly black clouds began swirling above the area.

'_He is channelling and overheating his Suiton Chakra with Katon Chakra and turning the vapour into…clouds?' _

Higure felt his Chakra continuously being sapped and small sweat lined his brows. Cutting off the Chakra supply once it was enough, he breathed out as the skies blackened and a thick veil of black covered the sky. He instinctively snapped his head back just in time to dodge a punch to his head; catching the wrist of his opponent before retaliating with a harsh elbow to the man's neck and a kick which sent the man flying high into the air, he weaved through a chain of complicated Handseals and the entire Root members' eyes widened when an enormous distance spanning water wave descended toward them, crackling with lightning and glowing dangerously.

Those fast enough jumped out-of-the-way of the electrified wave of water but fifteen got caught and were pounded down by the force of the water harshly, their wet state drawing in the electricity into their system and resulting in them being scorched harshly.

Higure caught movement out of the corner of his eye and caught the man's wrist as they brought a Tanto down to cleaver him, slapping a paralysis seal on their form and not long after the man stood paralysed. The redheaded didn't wait for him and simply roughly sent a harsh kick to the man's face which knocked the air out of him and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He clasped his hands, and those who could see Chakra could see the man channelling Chakra into the ground below, before he charged for the others, and the ground underneath him cracked forming a winding trench before an enormous pillar of water exploded from underneath the earth and spread over the ground, forming into a wide body of water.

'_He is now using Doton to lighten the ground and summon up large amounts of water from under the ground; he hopes to flood the area. Heh, he truly is incredible' _Danzo thought mid-jump as he gazed at the former Uzumaki clan head.

Seeing the large amount of water surrounding them, Danzo's root decided to take advantage of it and channelled Raiton Chakra into the water, making the charging Higure smirk as he jumped into the air and weaved through more handseals and the flood of water lifted like a veil or mat and now towered over the ANBU members "Suiton: Mizuberu no Jutsu".

Like a mat, the large body of water lifted and furled into itself, taking with it twenty of the Root ANBU who were sucked into the large circular vortex of water.

Terrible screams permeated the Air as the poor ANBU never stood a chance and they helplessly drowned under the pool of water. Higure fell to his knees, his hand clutching his heart as he struggled to breathe from exertion. It appeared that using two S-rank Jutsu had taken a lot out of him than had been intended, and only 45 of Danzo's Root remained and he was now feeling the effects of not training in very long.

Another wave of Root ANBU charged his way carelessly and the redhead clasped his hands together, and water exploded around him, swirling violently and causing winds to whip about in the battlefield "Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu" a large torrent of water gathered around the man in a circle, before forming into a very large circular whip of water which exploded outward and pounded into eight more of the unfortunate masked targets, crushing them beneath the strong force of the water torrent.

Sweat poured down the redhead's face in large rivulets, he still had one last option left that could end the battle in one swipe but he was saving that for the Commander himself, and at this the redhead looked up into the sky where the black clouds were still gathering…

* * *

**(Meanwhile; Inside the Barrier) **

"N-Naruto-kun…" Hotaru rasped out haggardly breathing from a difficulty to breath.

"Hotaru-chan, I'm right here. Don't worry, we will save you" the blond said through welling tears, keeping his eyes closed shut to stem the flood of tears in them. He propped the brunette's head on his lap rocking her bloodied form back and forth in a re-assuring embrace.

The girl merely sobbed softly, still coming to terms with the looming ominous fate she was bound to "I-i know…but I'm…s-sorry, it'll be alright…e-even if I die"

"No! d-don't say t-that, we'll save you and we'll be a family again, you, me and Jiji, please d-don't go…" the blond shook his head, his lips quivering greatly as he struggled to hold back the tears.

She smiled lightly, poking him weakly on the cheek with a finger "S-silly b-b-boy. Y-you don't…have to cry. Be a tough guy o-one last time…f-for me ok-kay" her voice became more haggard, her sentences breaking at every syllable making Naruto painfully aware of what was happening but yet he forced himself and his tearing heart to remain optimistic.

He only, if only to appease her than anything else and wiped away his tears "T-there...m-much b-better..." she smiled warmly at him before her form slackened in his hold.

Naruto felt looked back at at the girl with his own quivering smile but saw that she was now unmoving and her eyes were closed and then reality came crashing down on him. He felt his heart stop breathing and he could almost count the heartbeats his heart had produced to a minimum of five per minute. His body became cold once again terror clawed itself into his heart and mind and he began shaking the girl's form.

"C-come o-on Hotaru-chan, st-stop messing a-around" he gave her another soft shake and the girl didn't respond.

"H-hey come on, wake up Hotaru-chan, it's me Naruto, y-your annoying l-little b-b-brother" as he shook the girl once more and still got no response, Naruto became painfully aware of what had happened but he refused to accept it, he couldn't…

His heart hurt just as, if not much greater than the time when he had been abused and ignored entirely in Konoha for today Naruto Uzumaki was experiencing the pain of losing someone...

"H-Hotaru-chan…" he was now shaking her violently, her body shaking lifelessly without any resistance to how hard he was shaking at her shoulders. With every unresponsive shake, tears grew once more in the corners of his rippled eyes.

"H-o-taru…" One last shake of the shoulder and tears flowed out of the blonde's eyes freely.

"HOTARUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU" The blond bellowed out as he clutched the girl's figure close to his, and then an empty feeling racked his heart. "I-I'm s-so s-sorry, I wasn't strong e-enough" the blond said with an aching heart, the girl's blood was all over his black clothing and features but he didn't appear to mind the state his clothing was in.

He couldn't believe it, Hotaru was gone. So unfairly and prematurely stripped off of her life by the monsters before him, she had been like a sister to him and dare he say he loved her. She cooked for him, she bore with him despite his terrible table tendencies and manners, she taught him a lot about socialising, the world and medicine. But now she had been taken away from him, his first real family was crumbling apart and it was all because of Danzo. The man who made his life hell and showed him true hell. He felt rage well up inside him like an over-flooded dam, almost begging him to let loose its terrible might and threatening to erupt and burn all that stood before him, it was a feeling he knew normally comes with his tenant's chakra.

He choked out one last sob, and then he felt a stingingly burning sensation travel to his eyes, the same as that night in Konoha. His eyes burned and the rings in his eyes glowed as an influx of Chakra flooded his eyes and stayed there. He felt his strength returning rapidly to him and his body hardening, his mind willing him and telling him there was nothing he couldn't possibly do…he wanted revenge and this time he would reap it out brutally.

_**'Kill them' **_a deeper childlike voice whispered.

Naruto absently nodded…

_**'Reap their innards to pieces for taking her away from us' **_the voice whispered out in the corners of the blonde's mind.

He clenched his fist as power surged within him and his Chakra spiked wildly…

_**'Tear their puny bodies' limb from limb' **_it whispered yet again this time doing so much more savagely.

He nodded yet again absently, listening to the sweet whispers of vengeance which he didn't care whether they were real or not…

_**'Bathe in their blood and condemn their souls to hell'**_

…because he wanted revenge as well.

_**'KILL THEM ALL' **_with that loud scream a red Chakra exploded out of Naruto in the form of four tails, yet he retained his human features, only his canines and whiskers thickened and his purple eyes glowing a crimson red, and spotting a slit for a pupil.

Naruto sat Hotaru's prone body gently on the ground. He stood up, straightening himself yet no bothering to wipe away the tears from his bloodshot rippled eyes. With clenched fists, the dark red aura still emanating from him as it swirled violently around him in the form of the four Chakra tails, the tails disappeared into his system as his will subdued that of his Bijuu's hatred filled Chakra and his eyes returned to normal. He moved toward the barrier encompassing him.

"Gakidou" he muttered emotionlessly, his hands moving forward animatedly and planting themselves on the surface of the purple Chakra structure in fully outstretched palms.

Slowly, like a light that was being sucked out, the purple Chakra structure twisted and warped into Naruto's palms almost as if under the pull of intense gravitational of a black hole. The tall structure flickered hologramically and the entirety of the Chakra structure seemingly faded hopelessly into the blonde's palm and soon enough the enormous structure had all been absorbed into Naruto's palms.

**(Back at the Battle)**

Higure was panting harshly, he looked on as five of his thirty five remaining opponents, he dodged their attacks as best he could, lashing out with a kick or punch whenever an opportunity arose. He caught a kick to his torso, before spinning out of the way and using the man as a shield to block a thrust from a Tanto which impaled the man, spluttering blood to the ground. The man's comrade didn't even seem deterred by his death and simply pursued the redhead who dodged under another slash, and countered with a low-kick that took the man's legs from under him and just as he hit the ground, Higure had already buried a Kunai in his skull. He dodged more swipes from the other three and just as he went to attack, everyone froze as a vile energy exploded from behind them and breathing suddenly became a chore to those not used to this kind of power and murderous intent.

Inside the barrier, pillars of red Chakra rose into the air and Higure looked back at Naruto through heavy-lidded eyes, and shock lined the features of those in the battlefield as the blond stood in the center of the barrier with four tails of red malevolent Chakra swaying behind him before disappearing into him completely. His hair was covering his face as he had his head facing the ground, his gaze on the form of a motionless Hotaru. The shock didn't end there however as the blond planted his palms on the surface of the large purple structure and warped it out of existence and in that moment Higure knew things had just gotten more complicated. His shock of see the blond out of the barrier hadn't died down yet. He had specifically used a barrier of that magnitude to not only keep him out of the fight but protect him from any of the fighting and to prevent him from getting caught in the crossfire, but here he was, out and looking…he didn't know how to describe it but the best he could come up with was dead and cold.

Suspense reigned as across the battlefield all eyes were transfixed on Naruto as he took soft pattering steps, his presence muting and halting all that had been happening like a child that had walked in on a fight between their parent.

Even Danzo and his foundation were eyeing the blond wearily. His face was blank, stone-cold emotionless and unreadable, even to his Sensei. Soon the blond stopped near Higure, his black sandal-clad feet landing near his face, making the man who was on his knees, strain his neck in order to have a look at his student and fellow clansmen. The blonde's long black baggy-sleeved shirt was untucked and was fluttering in the wind, and he was still clad in the same black ANBU pants Higure had given him for his training, they were Uzumaki clan attire or wear and they added a regal appearance to the blond which would've further been augmented by the blue samurai-esque armour which he wasn't wearing.

Naruto simply stared blankly ahead as two porcelain-masked enemies charged toward him. He remained unmoving, but barely a few seconds later he disappeared completely and appeared in front of the two in the middle of the scorched and wet field, catching both of them with surprisingly firm grips on their necks and halting their speedy trajectory. His small, but absurdly strong hands lifting them up much to the concealed horror and shock of Danzo and his other men, before he crushed them into the ground with a brutal sickening crunch, prompting blood and debris to fly or lift up from the impact. Two sizable craters being created from where the bodies had impacted the earth and their bodies had dug into the earth in human-sized holes.

The blond stood up, his blank tear-streaked face giving away little to no emotion toward what he had just done. His gaze was on Danzo and the man stared right back, but flinched involuntarily as he met the cold purple Rinnegan eyes of Naruto, his furrowed brows showed he was obviously unsettled by this brief display of terrifying power from the young Kyuubi's vessel and he indeed had to be.

The blond took a step forward and all his enemies tensed in preparation and then he disappeared...

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***Translations***

**Tsukai no Uzumaki- Tamer of Whirlpools**

**Juinjutsu- Cursed Seal- Technique**

**Juinjutsu- Ne Chuuki no Juinjutsu: Cursed Seal technique: Root Paralysis Cursed Seal (Couldn't find a Japanese name for this one on Narutopedia and I didn't feel like skimming through the manga looking for it either. So went and made up my own, if it's wrong correct me please, I suck at coming up with names)**

**Shinobi no Yami- The darkness of the Shinobi**

**Gakidou- Preta path/Ghost realm (Another path for Naruto awakened) **

**Kodai Shitai no Shoujinheki- Ancient Style Barrier Encampment**

**Suiton: Hankou no Shinzen'na Junjo- Water Release: Defiance of the Natural order**

**Suiton: Mizuberu no Jutsu- Water Release: Water Veil Technique**

**Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu- Water Release: Water Bullet Technique**

**Magomusuko: Grandson**

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**Well, there it is.**

**Immortal signing out...**


	9. Unleashed! The true power of the Rinnega

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

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**I'm very touched by some of the responses I have received, and I am glad you are all enjoying the story. Last chapter I asked for 16 reviews and I got 22 and all of them were meaningful in a sense, I hope you carry the support into this chapter as well. Oh let's not forget, I don't own Naruto…**

**I busted my ass for this chapter, I worked hard on grammar and language and the Chapter was beta read by ****Umi no Suiro****, so his feedback was extremely helpful…**

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"To see or know hell is not to die but simply to live on earth and be Human, there is no greater hell beside that" The Disturbed Immortal (Yeah I come up with my own quotes, so what? I never saw anyone stop the Dalai Lama).

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**Chapter 8: Unleashed! The true power of the Rinnegan**

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Wind whipped at and all around the destroyed water covered plain, blowing away charred small remains of leaves and tiny splinters in the destroyed and flooded outfield. The wind ruffled all the forms of those across the water covered clearing, and it seemed to be the only moving object in the space as it ruffled by the forms of the deceased and sprawled ANBU at Naruto's feet. Unsurprisingly all eyes were on the blond and he was staring back at his masked adversaries emotionlessly and with equal intensity, blood that was not his covering his black-clothed torso and face.

Faint traces of red and blue Chakra were swirling and wisping around him around him violently. The aura coming off of the blond was oppressive and forcing unease to etch into the hearts of all those who had just seen his brutal disposal of the two ANBU before him. Moving mere inches of their bodies had suddenly became a chore and they couldn't stop the slight tremble that was in their knees.

The cold and malicious aura around the blond never subsided as he just stared forward blankly, his rippled, sharp purple eyes almost seeming to pierce through the forms of Danzo and his men with how cold it was. The suspense was grim, the air was heavy and suffocating and it could be seen with the growing and bulging veins on the bodily features of the Foundation members from how tightly they were gripping their weapons and forcing themselves not to end their lives right there and then from the intense increase in gravity and Killing intent; whether real or psychological remained a mystery but it certainly was there.

All they saw as they stole a glance at the blonde's eyes was death and suddenly they didn't feel all that up to the task of engaging the monster-child before them.

He took a step forward, and all his enemies tensed in anticipation and then he disappeared…

Danzo snarled as Naruto vanished before his very eyes; the speed he was displaying catching even his trained motion-capturing eye by surprise, _'Where is he?'_ his red three-tomoe eye scoped the field, flickering here and there with speed that couldn't be normal for an eye.

Naruto appeared amidst the tens of dishevelled remaining ROOT Shinobi and cocked a purple Chakra-enshrouded fist which met the jaw of the first of the masked targets, sending them flying up into the air from the impact and sending small shockwave-ish ripples twitching up into the air. Ducking underneath a horizontal slash; a mechanised head-like appendage with similar rippled eyes emerged from his back, drawing a stupefied look out of his enemy whom the blond offered no respite and replied to the slash-attack with a roundhouse kick to the man's jaw.

Two more Tanto wielding ANBU launched themselves toward him, and in well synchronized fashion sent multiple slashes toward his smaller form to blindside him however he merely dodged all of them. Swerving his head out of the way of another slash, he grabbed the man by his arm and punched him terribly hard, his fist digging into the man's torso and causing a part of his clothing to tear in a fist sized tear-hole behind his back. He swung the man's body around before flinging him at another descending opponent approaching from above. Out of balance and without the ability to change his trajectory mid-air, the man was hit square and fell to the ground in a loud, bone-crushing thud.

Naruto jumped up and landed on the head of another ANBU, clasping and wrapping his head with his legs and hanging upside down using his head as a lever to hang off of before he twisted his legs with the man's head still held in between them. A loud resounding snap was heard as the man's neck was contorted sickeningly by the blond as he twisted his legs, all life simultaneuously vanishing from the man's eyes as he dropped to the ground with his neck giving away a plunking sound.

Dislodging himself and jumping away from the body of the man as it slumped lifelessly to the ground soon after; Naruto took off in burst of speed, his figure blurring atop the surface of the water covered field before he appeared before an unfortunate blue-haired ANBU who couldn't respond quick enough to dodge the high-kick which connected with his chin, the sole of Naruto's Ninja-sandal digging into the man's chin and causing blood to erupt from the man's mouth as he most possibly bit his tongue off from force of the harsh kick before the impact launched him high into the air. Taking that as his cue and disappearing, Naruto appeared underneath the man just as he was about to hit the ground and raised his knee which the man unfortunately fell atop and a bone-chilling snap, enough to make the 'side-lined' Higure and Danzo cringe resounded out along with a horrifying scream of pain.

On the side-lines Danzo cursed underneath his breath, it was now becoming painfully evident that this battle was definitely unfavourable toward his men and with their numbers having dwindled due to Higure's earlier assault, and he knew that it wouldn't be long before the Kyuubi came for him. The boy's mastery of the Rinnegan was truly terrifying. He had always taken the boy's eyes for granted compared to the Sharingan but here he was witnessing the true god-like power that had been exaggerated in rumours for centuries before they were supposedly all deemed mythical. He hadn't seen a slaughter like this ever since Madara and this child; this mere failed weapon was certainly making him believe he was the devil reincarnate, the second coming of the ghost of the Uchiha. The boy's strange ruthlessness was a sight to watch and digest but he hadn't quite showed him anything yet, only speed, brutal Taijutsu and that strange 'third-appendage' ability. He was slightly troubled but he was still confident he could get the boy under his control at the end of this battle.

Meanwhile, Higure just watched as his student dismantled a small army of arduously trained black ops, and making it look like child's play. While he was marvelling at the incredible power his blond grandson was displaying, he knew he had to help him. The blond was suffering on the inside and doing all this out of anger and pain. This brutal killing didn't sit well with him either but the question was could he stop him? He knew letting him tear and mete out his vengeance was probably the only way he could deal with the loss of Hotaru but in the end it would merely come back to haunt him and reality would set in after he had unleashed all his anger and emotions, and then he would break down.

After this he just needed to remind him the difference between vengeance and justice because the two were so interlinked in that one was often driven by the former to seek the latter, and in that view they were often confused with the other. Justice wasn't vengeance and the cause of this mix-up could be a result of the culture of the Shinobi.

He just hoped the blond would emerge from this intact, both mentally and physically; regardless of the fact that he would be scarred by the devastating experience.

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**Meanwhile…**

Naruto caught a Tanto meant to decapitate him with his hands, however upon closer inspection one could see that it wasn't touching his hands at all, and had merely stopped a few inches from making contact with his palms. The attacker tried to rear the weapon back but found it somehow stuck, held back by some invisible force the blond was letting out between his palms.

Clutching his palms together and closing them around the sharp weapon tightly, Naruto pulled it out of the man's grip before expertly flinging it behind him absently without looking and a body fell behind him as the Tanto struck another Root member attempting to sneak up on him from behind. Blood dripped from the blonde's palms as the Tanto had obviously cut a grotesque trench within his palms when he carelessly yanked it out of the Anbu's hands. However the Rinnegan wielding blond didn't even register the spilling red liquid as his wounds knitted themselves back together with quickness that far outmatched that of a seamstress.

The other Root whose Tanto was used to kill his comrade looked on through shortlived shock before he too was gutted with a hard knee to the chest by the blond which sent him into a coughing fit. The hapless foundation member's demise was briefly delayed when Naruto held back his attack as he saw through the mechanised head on his back as another presence approached him from behind with a raised Tanto. The blond responded accordingly, swivelling out of the way of a thrust before responding with a kick to the man's jaw which sent him flying back before colliding with one of his brethren who couldn't catch and halt his momentum and in the end were bowled over by the man.

Turning to the gutted ANBU, Naruto looked at him with piercing cold rippled eyes, making the man inwardly flinch behind his mask. A whizzing sound signalled the release of a black blade from underneath the blonde's baggy-sleeve before he cocked it back and drove it into the man's chest, effortlessly plunging the sharp, sturdy blade through him like hot knife through butter. The man's eyes widened before rolling back into his head as death warped his consciousness into the underworld and the awaiting Shinigami.

Naruto removed the black blade from the man's chest absently, hot glistening blood cascading down it in small drips before gazing at it with an inspecting curious look as if it was the most impulsive thing he had ever produced, his surprise hidden behind his mask of indifference. He turned as he felt the ground rumbling beneath his feet only to see an Earth dragon barrelling toward him, parting the flood of water created by Higure's earlier endeavor from it's incredible size and roaring toward the Rinnegan wielding Uzumaki. The blond waited for the large earthen dragon before activating his Chakra absorption path and his enemies all inwardly smirked as they saw him wait for the earth monster with outstretched hands and palms.

"**BOOM!" **A loud roaring and resonating sound was heard as the Earth Dragon collided with Naruto and drove him into the water covered ground and Danzo on the side-lines closed his eyes in victory believing his men had finally defeated the blond Uzumaki. Hardly seconds later a cracking, crumbling sound was heard as the earth dragon shook violently, various cracks appearing along its entire length before it began crumbling into small bits of rock and debris, making all the enemies turned spectators snap their heads toward where the blond was last seen as the dragon pounded into him. Suffice to say all the Root were quite shocked to see the enormous Doton Ninjutsu crumble into nothing but lifeless dusty mud and debris, a thin hue of white being exuded from the blonde's palms as he sucked all of the Chakra out of it, but of course they didn't know that.

Leaping backwards, Naruto put a considerable distance between himself and his opponents, looking slightly ruffled but without any prominent scratches and scars on his features. He was staring down at the ground, with his unruly spikes of hair shadowing his eyes. Only seventeen men remained from the 34 he had engaged and all the others were sprawled across the ground motionlessly. The battle would soon be fotegone conlusion and his opponents didn't waste any time in pelleting toward him once again, five of the white porcelain masked ANBU to be exact; and they all came bulleting from opposing positions toward the blond who waited for them impassively, a black blade impulsively flaring into existence in his hand.

The men pelleted toward Naruto from all sides; their charge forming a small pentagon-shape of attacking figures, their armed hands cocked back dangerously to cleaver him. Converging upon the blond with wind whipping at their now flying forms, they flung their weapons at the blond who merely shifted his left leg with a slight motion and raised his hands "Shinra Tensei" his voice barely audible it could be considered a whisper, an intense weight-exerting and body crushing concentrated wave of gravitational force exploded from the blonde's palm, viciously blowing away the foundation members, their screams of pain and horror carrying on into the wind as they were crushed under the almighty push of gravity.

Naruto stood there, two hands outstretched away from his body facing the opposite directions in which he had repelled the Root ANBU toward in a sign of his trademark Dojutsu. His hands slumped back to his sides, the eyes of head appendage on his back intently sifting between here and there, scoping for any enemy movement. a sudden rushing sound caught the gaze of the mechanised head however the blond didn't appear to be alerted to anything. The air whizzed as an Anbu descended on Naruto who glanced at him over the corners of his eyes, his back still to him. Just as the man brought his weapon down to strike, Naruto turned around and absently a long black rod emerged from out the sleeves of his right hand. The blond simply turned and blocked a swipe from behind him from one of Danzo's subordinates.

"Shuradou" Naruto whispered out on impulse, making the man who was struggling with him snap his head up at him in clear confusion to what he had said and the meaning behind it but he didn't have to wait long for his answer. A third arm burst forth from and detached itself from the blonde's shoulder, surprising the emotionally-defective adversary before it pierced through and out his torso in a hard squelching punch, emerging from his back in another display of ruthless brutality by the blond. "ARGGGGHHHHHHHH" the man's scream went unheard by the blond who almost looked…intrigued? that the man was crying out in pain as his appendage tore through him.

Blood covered over the patch of ground where they stood, the water covered-plain glistening with a frightening crimson stain. The blonde's appendage had a mechanised appearance similar to the head still on his back, and was glistening with blood and dripping the life energy in small globs of red while the man hung off of it.

Naruto's 'third arm' still had the man's now deceased form suspended in mid-air, displaying the incredible raw strength it packed, before slowly it opened up like a launching-pad all the while still firmly planted inside and plunged through the man's body and a flurry of missile projectiles dislodged themselves from it, shooting off and swooping toward Danzo's men at unbelievable speeds.

Recognising the danger, five of the foundation ANBU leapt forward and stood before their comrades, two running through short seals and skilfully parted the body of water using wind manipulation with steady streams and short gusts of wind, exposing the ground while the others rummaging through handseals spewed out soft muddy Chakra-imbued earth onto the temporarily visible earth on the wet outfield. The earth rumbled a second afterwards and an enormous earthen upright, wall-like structure rose from the ground to block and take the brunt of the explosives however they simply navigated over and around them as if they had minds of their own before converging on their targets and exploding out in great conflagrations of flames and debris and absorbing the large earth structure into the explosion. An immense shockwave followed consequently, creating violent winds all around the water covered surface.

A huge veil of smoke hung over the area from the flurry of relentless missile explosions, it was so thick that Naruto couldn't see through even with his Rinnegan but he seemed unminding of that and merely spread his senses and let eyes flicker about actively and searchingly. In the process he languidly and absently used his mechanised arm to toss the body of the fist-impaled dead Anbu to the ungracefully ground and turned his gaze to the now lifting cloud of smoke.

Danzo stood there, away from the battle; he knew that with that attack only a handful of his Root remained. He was troubled by this new show by the blond even if he wouldn't admit it. The abilities the Kyubi was displaying showed how truly invaluable a weapon he was, he knew he had to get his hands on the blond even if it meant sacrificing his entire Root. He could just make new recruits in Otogakure no Sato.

If Naruto could see the troubled expression on the man's face, he could've smirked evilly but luckily the cloud of smoke and dust provided the man with the necessary cover.

Meanwhile with Higure, the man had only watched with wide disbelieving eyes as his student disposed of over 20 ANBU level Shinobi mercilessly without batting an eye. The extraordinary fact was that he had accomplished such a task in just over four minutes. Half the jutsu Naruto had used perplexed and astonished him greatly, and while part of him wished to help Naruto out there, he could see that the blond was handling his opponents effectively and brutally and besides he figured he needed to preserve his Chakra for Danzo and decided to use opportunity provided by Naruto to gather his wits and strength back, he had hoped he could protect his blond grandson from the harsh fate of Shinobi but with the events of today he knew he had failed and Naruto now knew what Shinobi were truly like. While it was sickening to watch the hapless slaughtering of the ANBU and inappropriate to for a child as young as Naruto to be doing such things he knew he couldn't interfere, he had to let Naruto vent and this was the best way he could under the circumstances.

If he could he would try to reason with Danzo, however the man was too hardcore and ambitious a Shinobi to be swayed with a few heartfelt words. The only salvation he knew the man deserved and the only way he could be given a second of his already used up chances was if he were to die, that was the only way he could be saved from his dark path.

'_So this is the true power of the Rinnegan? Indeed it lives up to its mythical ungodliness' _a faraway expression was on the redhead's features as he looked on ahead as the smoke began to scatter and various fuzzy silhouettes of Naruto and Root could be made out.

The area had been reshaped by the missiles, new prominent water-filled craters stood out and smaller ponds remained from the water that had been disseminated by the relentless assault of the blonde's fired weapons, the cloud of steam slowly lifted off, showing the various charred bodies sinking into Higure's self-made river. Naruto gazed at Danzo's remaining minions, with the smoke having finally dispersed they were now hesitant to make the first move for they no longer knew what to expect from him, so he supposed he should take the first step in this dance.

Extending his hand out in front of him, another bladed-rod made of black matter slowly rose out of his palm and he took off in a sprint in the direction of his last two remaining opponents, his black clothing and blond hair whipping violently in the wind as the wind rushed by his speeding form. His masked-opponents didn't wait for him and stormed forward as well, to meet the blond half-way, with the first Anbu meeting and clashing weapons with Naruto, creating a clang form the brushing of the two steely weapons. Being pushed away, the man pulled back as his comrade appeared in front of the blond, his Tanto crackling with lightning and ready to deliver an incapacitating blow to him before he could being his weapon up to stave off the attack.

Two armoured appendage-hands erupted from Naruto's chest, both ripping out of him and tearing through his clothing before fending off the attack; one grabbed the man by his neck while the other was locking weapons with him, in the process stripping the man off of his ability to use both hands.

"Gakidou" the black blade disappeared as Naruto brought his two free normal hands forward, letting them snake up the man's form and grabbing him by his neck. One of the arm-like appendages vanished from the foundation member's neck and disappeared into the blond. Clutching the man's neck with his strong small hands, a thin blue-ish white hue of Chakra was pulled into Naruto's hands as he drained the man off of his Chakra. The man's form slumped against the blond as he warped all of his Chakra out of him, his form turning paler with each second the blond Rinnegan wielder sucked more of his life-energy. Releasing the man, his form flopped languidly to the ground before Naruto, his body pale as paper and withering away under the wisp of the wind as he disappeared into dust.

The last remaining Root stood a short distance, gazing at Naruto with twitching hands which were gripping his weapon tightly. The man had been conditioned to kill his emotions but hadn't been taught how to respond to them whenever they surfaced and was now at a loss of how to act to the sudden surfacing of intense emotions. He was human and thus he knew fear and it wasn't something which could be banished not if one had a heart and rational thought of what it means to die. He was now simply looking at Naruto paralysed by his cold eyes and his own fear of meeting the same fate as his comrade who had been withered into nothingness by the blond.

A clone exploded into smoke beside Naruto, making the three set of eyes transfixed on Naruto lift their eyebrows delicately at seeing the blond using a basic but dangerous Ninja technique beside from his Doujutsu. Naruto lifted his hand up once more, his Bijuu-empowered Chakra circulating violently within it "Shinra Tensei" with those barely audible words, the form of the last remaining foundation Anbu was lifted off the ground and yanked forcefully away from the earth, making him impact and bowl over a tree he collided with before his form slid down the length of the remaining lower half of the tree-bark and into the river of water with only his upper-torso remaining visible above the water. Splinters of wood were sent into the air and some were sinking into the water surrounding him and just as he opened his disorientated eyes he found himself face-to-face with Naruto's clone's sharp, purple-rippled eyes which were mere inches from his, piercing through his coldly in a hard stare which made him flinch his bleeding and injured form, the Bunshin's eyes showing him nothing but his looming death **"DIE!"** and that was the last thing the man would hear as he felt a sharp warm steel plunge through him and the tree behind him, leaving the man impaled to the tree.

Naruto and his clone looked at the man whom it had just killed impassively, a large hue of blood staining the water around him. A popping sound was heard as the doppelganger disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Turning around he began taking steps back toward his true enemy, the one who he wanted to kill. He felt his blood boil just thinking about him and how he had taken Hotaru from them. He was going to tear Danzo apart and cast him to hell today….

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**Meanwhile….**

Danzo stood atop the surface of the water, his normally schooled facial features kept from view by the darkened hood of clouds that still swelled above the area. He knew that to win here he would have to sacrifice a few gifts of 'that' technique but it was nothing he couldn't handle, he was after all facing a godlike spawn and his monstrous grandfather. He stood there keeping his form atop the water using short, mastered soles of Chakra beneath his feet.

He looked up as Naruto emerged from behind a row of trees and strolled toward him slowly. The former Konoha elder transfixed his gaze on the boy for whom he was going to all the trouble for. In his mind the boy was Konoha's, he was HIS, HIS weapon of war, the reason he went to all the trouble to add these subtle 'adjustments' as he called them, to himself. The boy was the weapon that will kick off the inception of a new order of peace that will see all the five great Nations united under one banner, the banner that was Konohagakure no Sato, HIS ultimate Konoha. He would have the boy today, come hell or high waters and only death would prevent him from doing so. His cast-held hand wiggled inside his cloak, the man pulling it out slowly before it was revealed as the man successfully pulled it out of his black cloak. His hand went around his right arm where three giant golden braces covered the heavily-bandaged arm; and he slowly twisted the first bolt of the golden arm protector letting it fall into the water below.

Naruto sauntered slowly toward the man, his steps creating small ripples in the water and lifting tiny droplets of water into the air around him. Steam rolled off the surface where the blonde's feet made contact with the water as he walked toward his enemy, anger rolling off of the blond in waves and as his gaze finally met Danzo's unperturbed features.

Naruto felt angrier the more he got closer to the shaggy-haired man who was responsible for the death of his Onee-san, the anger was just pouring into him, almost as if it wasn't his and he was struggling not to give in to his animalistic instincts urging him to tear the man apart. The blond snapped as the influx of anger got too much and four tails of red Chakra exploded out of him, covering the blond in a bloody-crimson shroud of Chakra, shocking even Danzo who gazed around as the water all around them began evaporating rapidly under the corrosive, lava-hot feel of Naruto's Chakra.

His hair had now taken on a wild and shaggier-looking appearance, his eyes now a pure rippled-red colour, fangs were protruding out the corners of his mouth and his whisker marks had thickened as well, giving him a predatory appearance as he stalked toward his prey. His skin was peeling off in a putrid display, leaving behind it a reddened layer of skin which was a thick dark crimson and bubbling in a grotesque manner.

Danzo gave a huffing grunt as he saw another tail manifest itself from the blonde's back and the outer layer of his skin fell off of him much quicker. The blonde's body stiffened and his eyes glazed over as if he was embroiled in some kind of internal struggle.

Danzo took that as his opportunity and ran toward the frozen blond with quick blurring speeds, his Sharingan flaring and his three-tomoe spinning wildly. The man appeared before the blond and as soon as his eyes made contact with the blonde's rippled-crimson ones, the man's lips twitched as he muttered something under his breath "Genjutsu: Sharingan" the man's three-tomoe eye spun as it bore into Naruto's, making him stop his thrashing in favour of looking at the red eyes of the man, attempting to mesmerize and hypnotise the Rinnegan wielding blond.

Naruto froze up for a brief pinch of time, his form loosening slowly and his eyes widening before his eyelids drooped languidly. Danzo let a self-satisfied smirk spread over his face at seeing the blonde's glazed over eyes; however it soon fell off of his face as a low-growling noise escaped the young Kyubi Jinchuuriki's lips and the man only had time to widen his eyes before he was hastily cast away from the blond by a violent torrent of rippling wind.

Danzo landed acrobatically, his eyes staring up at the blond. Naruto was now merely a reddened silhouette with subtle human features, his figure had taken on a humanoid appearance and he was hunched over, his chakra continuously spiking and increasing. Five tails of foaming vermillion Chakra whipping around him unrestrainedly, his appearance was animalistic with long upright red ears of Chakra. The former elder's brows scrunched as he assumed a frown on his features, he had thought his Sharingan would work given as far as his research went, he knew that the technique he had used was the technique that could subdue a Bijuu, absently the man wondered if a special type of Uchiha blood or Chakra could be what was needed but he didn't linger on that thought for long. He stared up at the Kyubified Jinchuuriki with a barely visible frown, measuring how his Chakra levels were wildly rising with each second and this was all adding up to the worry that was growing within the man.

The five-tailed Jinchuriki was hunched over, two large circular white orbs, supposedly his eyes boring into Danzo, his lips wide and gleaming with sharp saws for teeth _'At this rate, he is going to lose control to the beast and as I am now, I doubt I could stop it if it is released' _

Danzo merely stared up with an expressionless face, he watched on as the five-tailed Naruto continued clutching his head and then he stopped "ARRGGGGGHHHHHHH" the rippled-eyed blond roared wildly, bubbles of Chakra bubbling out of him and enshrouding him in a darkened dense cloak of crimson Chakra. _'It seems retreat will be the best option, it appears the situation is quickly becoming unfavourable' _the man surmised in his thoughts. _  
_

A considerable distance away from Danzo, Higure stood watching the blond Jinchuuriki with a worried stare, he was unnerved by the amount of Chakra carelessly rolling off of the blond. The man reached into his pocket, pulling out a small slab of faded green paper with a Kanji on it. He stared at it dubiously before his gaze returned to Naruto who let out another blood-chilling roar from his lips _'I will have to try to use this suppression seal to try and cut off the influence of the Kyubi on him…I doubt it would stop him, however I have to try nonetheless. Naruto is delving into a pit of despair and anger and for a Jinchuuriki that is very dangerous' _with that last thought in mind, the man blurred toward the blond, straining his exhausted reserves as he sent Chakra to his feet to increase his speed. "Almost there…" the man muttered under his breath as he was a few feet away from the blond, however Naruto's eyes flashed between red and purple before he let loose a Chakra enhanced shockwave of a roar, sending the redhead flying away from him, forcing the man to channel more Chakra to his feet to stop his body from being pushed back by the intense roar.

* * *

**(Mindscape)**

Drip.

He felts as if he was floating in a pit of nothingness; he had no sense of time or his own existence.

Drip.

He didn't know whether he was drifting in the wind, or was he merely dreaming? Either way, he just wanted to lay there. He didn't have any memory of how he ended up here, one minute he saw Hotaru die and he remembered how angry he had been, the next he was carelessly slaughtering ANBU and then he was floating here…

Drip.

Naruto opened his eyes only to come face to face with a perfect solid reflection of himself, albeit this one bearing coal-black rippled eyes with a red orb for a pupil. The blond blinked his eyes only to find the other blond still there, staring at him intensely with a look he couldn't quite comprehend.

His other self was staring up at him with piercing coal-black eyes, but there were the small remnants of a smirk on his face, "Are you the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow, his eyes now firmly gazing at the other replication of himself two feet away from him.

The other black-eyed blond snarled at that, his demeanour changing from one of carefreeness to one of stone-coldness as his eyes coldly piercing at the purple-eyed blond "**No, I. am. You.**"

There was a short silence as the blonds stared at one another, almost as if measuring the legitimacy of each other "I see…" Naruto merely nodded at that before taking in his surrounding, his eyes scoping the darkened space they were in with a curious look, "Why am I here?"

His now revealed fellow half merely grunted in annoyance at that "**You're here because you're resisting the power.**"

"Resisting? What do you mean?"

"**The furball is trying to filter its Chakra into us and you won't accept it.**"

Naruto remained quiet at that, staring at the pool of water below him. The other darker side of the blond frowned angrily, "Why are you resisting you bastard? Don't you want revenge for what they did to Hotaru-onee?"

The intense tone in the other Naruto's voice surprised the blond, but not as much as his referral of Hotaru as his sister "I do but-" the blond began quietly only to be cut off as his other half glared heatedly at him.

"**But what? The Kyuubi can help us, it told me so, just let it out and it will help us kill that old bastard.**"

"I'm sorry…" The purple eyed Naruto's gaze fell to the pool of water below him, a sad look on his face "I…I can't" he mouthed out very softly, his words making the other darker Naruto's eyes narrow as he let his head fall to the ground.

The darker half gave a feral growl of anger at the purple-eyed blonde's answer, "**Why can't you? After all you failed to protect her.**" his teeth were grinding against each other as he spoke, making it almost hard to decipher what he was saying.

Naruto just remained quiet at that, his eyes not meeting those of his opposite darker personality; he just stood there staring absently at his own reflection on the surface of the water around them in the darkened dimly lit room.

The other Naruto's head fell at the purple-eyed blonde's lack of a response; his eyes were obscured by his bangs, his fists clenched tightly enough that it resulted in his fist turn a sheet of white. He took two stalking steps toward his opposing blond counterpart, glaring coldly at him and grabbing him tightly by his shirt, "You bastard, I knew you were selfish. You let her die. You let them take her away from us when you had promised to protect her, and now you won't even let the Kyubi help us take revenge on the guy who took Hotaru-Onee?" a predatory growling noise escaped his lips as he glared at the other purple-eyed blond.

He tightened his fists around his shirt, however the other purple-eyed Naruto just stared absently ahead of him, aggravating his coal-black eyed counterpart "**Why won't you let it help us?**" his hands were not wrinkling his opposite half's shirt.

The purple-eyed blond turned around to gaze at his black-eyed replica with his own hard stare, "Because I don't want to become a monster in the process, to become what those people back in Konoha said I was. It's something she worked so hard to make us forget and I can't just fall too far like that." the other positive-feeling harbouring manifestation of the blond replied with fury, his harsh tone making the other blond flinch unwillingly, "I will kill Danzo but I won't become a monster just to do it."

His statement was met with a deafening silence, his opposite counterpart strangely quiet and unable to reply. The other Naruto's head was still bowed in shame, he raised his head and just as he was about to respond the entire scenery changed.

They found themselves on a wide, distance spanning grassy plain with large towering trees, the plane was filled with lush green forests and the sky was a striking golden colour with puffy sky-blue clouds, the entire scene was picture perfect, imaginary and was augmented by the beautiful strange species of birds flying overhead, they were birds of all colours and kinds and they chirped happily and let out melodious whistling sounds which spread a calm feeling across the beautiful space.

The two blonds found themselves unwillingly marvelling at the beauty of the strange golden-skied plane, however were soon broken out of their stupor as a soft, kindly voice spoke from behind them. Turning around, the two sets of eyes belonging to the two personalities that made up Uzumaki Naruto widened as soon as they met the gaze of the owner of the voice, "H-Hotaru-Oneechan?" their forms stiffened as they exclaimed in unison, their eyes glimmering with unshed tears as they gazed at their surrogate sister.

"Hello Naruto-kun." the girl's actions mirrored that of the real Hotaru so much that it was painful as she smiled warmly at the two blonds; her diamond shaped face showing a lot of compassion and sisterly affection, and it was shown in the way she smiled, similar to how she had always done when she was among the living.

Yami Naruto's eyes were wide with shock as he asked, his form quivering in happiness and sadness, "**B-but how…?**" the girl's form was glowing with a heavenly white colour, obscuring much of her from being visible.

"I'm not really here, I'm just a mental image conjured up by your mind because you were thinking about me." her statement drew looks of shock out of both blonds before they gazed forlornly at the ground with clenched fists.

It was the positive conscience of Naruto who broke the silence as he spoke with a voice full of wistfulness and sadness, "So that means that you're still…." He trailed off at the end, his gaze travelling to the sky above, allowing shades of golden light to reflect off his face as he just smiled sadly.

The girl nodded her head, her movements so in perfect choreography of her true form, "Yes, but I can also assume that the reason I'm here could be as a small part of my consciousness that was left behind when I died. I want you to know that I'm happy where I am and you don't need to worry." she said softly, a small white bird with golden feathers landing on her shoulders, pecking at her affectionately.

Yami Naruto stuttered out, both he and his positive counterpart struggling with anything to say, "**I-I…**"

"Goodbye Naruto-kun, I will miss you." the blond snapped up at that, reaching out with his hand and only grasping nothingness as the scenery changed again and they found themselves back in the normal darkened plane.

The positive conscience turned around as he heard a choked sob escape from his opposing negative half. The blond stared at him sadly before moving toward him, grasping his shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze "I'm sorry, but its time to end this, I'm going to fight Danzo and I ask you to please not interfere like you did before the battle began" the blond didn't wait for an answer and merely turned around, walking away however was stopped by the dark Naruto raising his hand and halting him.

"**Hey,**" he looked at him with a vicious smirk, his tears now cleared off of his face. "**don't hold back and rip him to pieces.**"

The purple-eyed positive Naruto only nodded with a small smile, getting the message the other blond was conveying before he disappeared from the plane altogether.

* * *

**(Mindscape-Seal)**

Naruto found his feet submerged in a pool of red bubbling substance. The water around him was bubbling up with a reddish foul substance. The blond looked around him, seeing that the space within the seal was flooding with the corrosive red Chakra of his tenant, the ankle-deep water before the large metallic gate keeping the Bijuu back was now a pure crimson red and was bubbling with steam like hot lava out of a volcano. The air was filled with hatred, immense rage and all the other negative emotions one could name and it was suffocating and overwhelming.

The blond turned and took a close look around him, red Chakra was flooding down the many pipe-lined hallways and pathways, travelling within the pipes which were cracked and dripping with the burning red Chakra of the Kyubi. The blond guessed that the pipes were pathways that helped in filtering the Chakra of the Bijuu into his circulatory system. He fixed his gaze on the enormous gate where he could make out the Kyubi, grinning madly at him and its hands grasping the bars of the metal gates.

"**Ningen, come closer" **Naruto just stared blankly at the Bijuu before walking closer to the gate with slow deliberate steps, stopping before the large gate and coming nose to nose with the Bijuu in a surprising show of boldness however the Bijuu didn't seem to notice this altogether.

"**Now rip this insufferable seal off" **Naruto just kept quiet, his eyes travelling to the seal atop his head with a curious stare, before staring back up at the Bijuu's and displaying an emotion it couldn't quite comprehend. The Bijuu raised a non-existent eyebrow as the boy didn't move but simply kept staring up at it.

"**Do you not wish to get revenge for your dead sibling?"**

Naruto looked down, clutching his fist so tightly that it was drawing out drips of blood which fell into the red pool beneath him and seemingly evaporating as soon as it made contact with the surface "How could you look at me and ask that? In fact how could you do this to me?" Naruto whispered out so lowly, his voice was barely audible even to the strong ears of the Bijuu which let a delicate eyebrow rise in curiosity "I thought that after that time in Konoha, that we could at least be civil with one, that you understood where I was coming from but then you went ahead and did this. I guess the sight of me sickened you so much that you wanted to erase it, you tried to kill me Kyubi and I've never felt so betrayed before in my life"

"**Spare me your foolish sentiment Ningen; I do not care for them. I do not care for anything but my own ambitions, I am the culmination of millennia of hatred, a mere child like you could never hope to comprehend a being such as myself"** the Bijuu replied intensely, its eyes boring into Naruto's tiny form.

Naruto simply just gave a dry chuckle in response "Yeah, I guess I just fooled myself into thinking you were also a living being that also had feelings too, that knew loneliness but now all i see is how bitter and selfish you really are. It's now wonder no one has ever tried to understand you"

Naruto turned to glare at the Bijuu intensely an intense aura of Chakra wisping around him, the pool of red Chakra reverting back into the cage where it stood, facing Naruto with an intense glare of its own "I'm disappointed in you Kyubi, you know I'd never do anything like this to you. In fact I was planning on one day finding a way to set you free and even considering being your friend, but after this…I don't think I can forgive you for trying to take advantage of my despair to stage your escape" the Bijuu's eyes widened at that, something about those words struck a hard, painful chord inside it.

Naruto turned around and let his back to the Bijuu, glaring at it over the corners of his eyes "If you do this once again, I'll find a way to make things a living hell for you" Naruto disappeared from the cage and the Bijuu let out a withheld sigh it didn't know it had been holding. Although it tried to convince itself it had been a fleeting trick of the eyes, there had been something about the way Naruto had looked down on it, looked down on the mighty Bijuu, a harbinger of chaos and destruction. There had been something about the young blonde's disapproving stare that had made it feel small, inferior and reminded it of HIM, its father. The beast truly didn't appreciate the feeling but it knew that it had done wrong by the blond, however never in a million years would it apologise. It didn't know what had suddenly overcome it and drove it to try to take control of Naruto's devastated state but the fleeting thought of its own freedom had made it act out impulsively and it had hurt Naruto's feelings.

The Bijuu just longed to feel free once again, was there anything terribly wrong with that?

Yes it had tried to take advantage of a hurting child but it also had its own feelings to consider. A lot of strange things had happened today, It had been impressed with the way Naruto fought back and desperately resisted its Chakra even with his darker side influencing him and managing to even retain his normal form, albeit slightly when he had manifested four tails. However what had impressed it the most was how the blond had stood up to its terrible might, and had threatened it and then there was that feeling…a chakra signature, it was barely untraceable and so faint the Kyubi thought it had imagined it but there was no mistaking it. 'That' man's Chakra signature was somewhere in another hidden portion of his container's mind and the strength of the signature only grew with every tail its container manifested.

The Bijuu knew its senses could never deceive it…HE is here somewhere.

Letting out a low growl, _'__**Foolish Ningen!'**_the Bijuu inwardly snarled in slight anger as it saw the multiple crack lines which had carved themselves on the walls start disappearing and the walls of the seal began repairing themselves, its Chakra began returning to the cage slowly but was controlled by the blond.

In the end, settling to see how the events played out, the Bijuu closed its eyes and propped its head on its arms in deep thought, its mind still focused on the location of the faint signature it had sensed.

_'__**Where are you…Yondaime Hokage?'**_

* * *

**(****Back ****to**** Battlefield)**

Higure watched on helplessly as the six-tailed silhouetted Naruto stopped clutching at his head tightly, then with a loud guttural growl escaped from the Chakra engulfed blond before the red Chakra began disappearing into him slowly, leaving behind Naruto completely unscathed and controlled blue Chakra circulating around him as his facial features were set in a look of intensity.

"**Rinnegan!"** Naruto's rippled-purple eyes glowed ominously as a result of the amount of Chakra he was imbuing in them, before the violent red Chakra stopped enshrouding the blond subsided into his Chakra system yet again and his features returned to normal as he resisted the hatred-filled Chakra of his tenant.

A distance away Danzo looked on shocked as he saw the completely unaffected blond, all traces of his wild Bijuu Chakra had disappeared and only acceptable Jinchuriki reserves of Chakra remained within him. The man's facial features were schooled in a very neutral expression. However on the inside was a different story, he was worried and lots of questions filled his mind, ranging from whether Naruto had succeeded in taming the Bijuu he held within himself or if it had overwhelmed him and what he was seeing was merely the Bijuu using his body as a medium. He sighed when he sensed only small remnants of Bijuu Chakra within the blond; he brought his hand over his arm brace yet again, finally glad the intense atmosphere had lifted.

The man resumed his twisting of the large bolts on his arm as he prepared for battle, his face displayed composure and lack of worry. He had seen all that the boy could do, he knew what to expect from him and thus, he calmly waited for him as he made his way toward him, A black rod whipping into existence in his palm.

As soon as Danzo's hands let loose the final golden-bolt, time seemed to slow down as the three large golden braces descended in slow motion into the water below and once it made contact with the water surface Naruto disappeared and reappeared before the man, a black blade poised to stab him.

A sword appeared within Danzo's hand, single-handedly blocking the attack however that proved to be a mistake on his part as he found himself being driven back by Naruto; Danzo disengaged the blond, jumping back and landing a few feet atop the surface of the water gracefully. He lunged at Naruto with his sword, a thin hue of wind extending from the tip and lengthening the reach of the weapon.

Naruto who could see the Chakra dodged the lunge by swivelling to the side as Danzo dove at him with his sword, turning slowly Naruto replied with a low kick to the man's feet but Danzo leaped over his attack and sent a kick to the blonde's face while mid-air which Naruto blocked with both hands crossed in front of him protectively, taking the brunt force of the attack which had the desired effect of launching the blond backwards. Danzo flew after him, his long black and white clothing ruffling in the wind as he leapt after the flying blond. Naruto managed to plant his feet into the water, his feet digging into the water and splashing water messily about, whilst still speedily skidding across the surface of the water from the momentum Naruto saw as Danzo flew after him, the blond whipped out his black blade and flung it hard toward the man who was speeding toward him and as the man dodged it, however it had the desired effect of slowing him down for a second which was all that the blond needed as he halted his momentum with a splash of water.

Naruto raised his hand, making the charging man stop his charge in favour of seeing what it was he planned, the blond saw as the man instantly sent more Chakra to his feet, probably thinking he was going to use gravity Jutsu. Naruto's arm opened up before a flurry of small-missiles flew toward Danzo who turned and took off in a run, swerving out of the way and using agility beyond his age to deceive the relentless mechanical weaponry and make them explode against random trees or against themselves.

Danzo made quick handseals with his hands while running before, drawing in a smooth thin breath, he spun his form slightly and blew out a near-circular blade of wind which sliced through the flurry of remaining projectiles, causing them to explode in a shower of flames. He cursed underneath his breath for forgetting about the boy's technique to fire explosives at his opponents. It now became obvious that defeating the blond wasn't going to be easy, the man unwrapped his bandaged right hand, which the blond had paid little to any attention, it glowed with small hues of red as ten roundish orbs fluttered open, resembling the eye in the man's right socket.

**Meanwhile….**

The recuperating Higure who was standing on the side-lines could only withhold a gasp at seeing the pallid right hand of the man, or rather what was embedded in it. There were ten Sharingan eyes, the ocular Kekkei Genkai of Konohagakure's former exalted clan, the Uchiha. The former elder seemingly had imparted the eyes into him and now Higure understood what he meant when he spoke about adding 'small gifts' to his growing strength and he was utterly sickened. He wondered if Hiruzen knew about what the man had been up to but guessed he did but simply let the man off due to his kindness and the sake of their former friendship.

It was clear now, Danzo truly was a monster and the redhead believed he had just unravelled a major conclusion about the infamous Uchiha massacre, he now knew Danzo was behind it somehow and also the fact that the boy who had supposedly massacred his clan had relations with ANBU black ops meant he had had the misfortune of being under Danzo's influence. It all added up, Danzo had to have had the clan massacred for his own selfish desire to acquire the Sharingan, but the real question was why go to all the trouble? Danzo was a man of power in Konoha and was seen as the Hokage's assistant, so why go to all this trouble to acquire the eyes unless he was….

Realisation dawned on the man's face, making his eyes widen in surprise as he gazed at the _'Unless he wanted to control a Bijuu, the Sharingan has the ability to control a Bijuu. So he did all this because he wished to one day control Naruto'_ the pieces were finally coming together and the redhead was greeted with the shocking realisation of the true story behind the man's ambitions.

He looked back toward where the man did battle with Naruto, only a little bit more time and he would be able to enact his ultimate technique, regardless of the costs…

* * *

**(Battlefield)**

Danzo stormed toward Naruto, spinning his sword in his hand as he brought it down on the blond who countered with his own black metal blade a thin hue of blue Chakra surrounding it. Danzo found himself in a deadlock with Naruto as he couldn't push the empowered blond, Naruto saw as the man lashed out with a high kick which the blond barely dodged by the skin of his teeth.

Jumping back to put more distance between himself and his opponent, 'Damn, I need more speed' the blond thought and absently his Asura path activated, the water beneath his feet began boiling before Naruto exploded out of it in unfathomable speeds much to the surprise of Danzo, Higure and even the blond himself as he was propelled forward by fiery burst of Chakra from beneath his feet, appearing before a wide-eyed Danzo Naruto plunged an armoured hand through the man's chest, blood exploded out of the man as he looked at Naruto wide-eyed before he simply grunted and faded out of existence.

Naruto looked around confusedly only to feel quick pitter-patter movement coming from behind him, glancing behind him he saw Danzo charging toward him, surprise clawed across Naruto's face but his features hardened in anger "Shuradou" Naruto's whole body hardened like steel just as Danzo brought down his sword on him, the blond grabbed Danzo by his arm, before driving a hard punch into his the man's torso, making him sputter a mixture of spit and blood onto the disturbed waters.

He wasted no time in driving three more quick hard punches into Danzo's gut before completing the combination with a vicious kick to the man's face which sent him flying away with a grunt. Naruto was surprised to hear his sensor instincts telling him to dodge as the Danzo he had ruthlessly pummelled poofed into smoke and he heard as a howling of wind came whistling toward him, the blond was viciously blown away, three of the air bullets digging and piercing straight through his shoulder, and legs as his enemy avoided hitting any vital spots that might be detrimental.

Naruto let out a groan of pain as the wind bullets tore and cut into him, making him drop to his knees, however red Chakra bubbled around the blonde's cuts, knitting back his cut up and pierced skin rapidly, making a frown align Danzo's features.

_'It seemed he is still channelling the Kyubi's chakra but he is in control, this will make things more difficult now. I cannot risk Kotoamatsukami meaning I will have to find another way to subdue him'_ the man thought with a low grunt, his eyes staring down at Naruto.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man noticing that one of his arm-embedded eyes was partly open and was casting a distortion of Chakra around the Konoha elder. Eight of the eyes were open and one completely closed off while another was partly still open and as he concentrated on it he saw it slowly closing as well. The blond didn't know what this all meant and had been surprised when he killed the man only for him to disappear and reappear alive and unharmed but he knew that before the day ended he would kill the man one way or another.

Taking off in a run toward the impassive Root commander, Naruto whipped out and shot two black blades with both his hands toward the man who brought his hands sword forward, deflecting the durable weapons skilfully "Futon: Shinkuu Taigyoku" The man's cheeks puffed up, his nostrils flaring as he took an inhalation of air before shooting out a large gust of wind that compressed to form a large ball of wind which flew toward Naruto, parting the water and creating violent gusts of air atop the surface of the water.

Naruto stopped his storming run, bringing both his hands up and absorbing the Chakra in the technique, the wind whipped at Naruto's clothing as he warped the Chakra out of the technique, creating blinding-white trails of air and leaving it as a small unimpressive gust of wind. The blond glanced around, noting the absence of his opponent as he felt the man's Chakra replenish his own reserves.

The blonde's rippled-eyes flickered between here and there, trying to determine where his missing foe might have disappeared to. The blonde's eyes widened as he felt two hands grab his legs firmly before yanking him hard into the deep of the water.

Once Naruto disappeared into the deep he was met with a hard punch which dug into his gut, making him let out bubbling gasp, another buried itself into his gut and then a knee before a punch to the jaw which disorientated the blond slightly, making him swallow mouthfuls of water as he struggled to breath.

Danzo released short bursts of Chakra from under his feet to increase his speed and swam toward the blond, poised to end the battle.

Naruto who was slowly sinking further deep, feeling out of breath and gulping down more contents of the water, felt his consciousness slowly slipping away from him, hanging by a small thread. Forcing Chakra to his eyes the blond re-opened them "Mphrribhha Furrhbbreei" the water surface above bulged almost as if deep underneath it something had released a calm breath and then the water exploded away as the entire clearing was levelled by an intense weight of crushing gravitational force.

Danzo's form coming out flying out of it as well before colliding with a large boulder, creating a crack-lines on it before his blood cascaded down the large slab of rock.

Naruto's head burst from the water, coughing out wildly before the rest of his body emerged under the water surface, before slowly standing atop the surface of the flood of water, perched on one knee, his elbow propped on it as he took quick inhalations of the oxygen all around.

The blond drew on a small pinch of his tenant's Chakra yet again, exercising great caution in the process to avoid another scenario where the Bijuu would try something funny, the feeling of its chaotic warmth rejuvenating his depleted pathways. Getting up and straightening his drenched and soaked form up, he stared down toward Danzo who faded out of existence and disappeared from the large stone boulder and reappeared away from it, unscathed yet again. The blond narrowed his eyes as he saw a fifth eye on the man's arm close up. The man ran through more handseals before blowing out another violent wave of wind toward Naruto who dodged this time, before taking off toward Danzo who also did the same.

A black blade rose from the blonde's sleeve, falling into his hand as his rod met Danzo's sword, the two attacks sending strong waves of air careening from the impact of their two attacks.

Naruto sent a hopeless lunge at the man's chest, deflecting the blonde's black rod to the ground, Danzo thrust his own sword forward and just as it made contact with Naruto's skin it shattered, making Danzo's eyes widen in surprise as the rest of the blonde's torso took on a mechanised appearance.

Naruto planted a palm on the man's chest, before crushing him down with a violent wave of gravity which sent the man flying into the air, the blond disappeared and appeared above the airborne former elder of Konoha, rearing his hand back, a black rod burst out of the blonde's palm before he plunged it through the man's chest.

"Arggghhh" Danzo let out a pained as the black sturdy material weapon of the blond tore into him, sending waves of unimaginable pain travelling into the man's body. No sooner had the black blade pierced through the man's form; he faded away into nothingness, a faint barely visible after-image of him remaining underneath the blond Rinnegan wielder.

A sudden harsh kick dug into Naruto's armoured back, however the durable mechanised properties took the brunt of the attack, Naruto twisted the upper part of his torso in a 360 degree angle, making even Danzo cringe in shock however his shock was short-lived as Naruto's arm took on a serrated blade-like appearance before the blond drove it into the man's chest, causing pools of blood to fly up into the air, Naruto grabbed at the man's neck however the man vanished under the blonde's grip, almost as if he was never there but was a mere illusion. The blond let out a frustrated growl at that as he landed back on the surface, forgetting his surroundings for a brief second out of frustration. Large beads of sweat rolled down Naruto's face as he searched for Danzo.

Danzo stood a few metres away from the blond, panting harshly as exhaustion finally caught up to him. He hadn't thought that the fight with the Kyuubi Jinchuriki would last this long, however it had lasted beyond the time he had thought it would and not only that but the boy had fought him on equal terms and if not slightly stronger than he was. He had been forced to consistently use Izanagi throughout the entire battle, he had been battling the Jinchuriki for over nine minutes now, and only one eye remained, meaning a minute of immortality if he used it well. The man looked at his pallid white arm, the red orbs on it were all closed except for the one in his palm and he knew that he only had one shot to defeat the boy and save his last eye for possibly a bout with Higure.

'_It seems I am going to have to sacrifice it. I had planned on using this after I had subdued him, however I have no choice'_

Naruto blurred toward Danzo as he finally could make him out, he was also feeling the subtle surges of exhaustion greet him but he unlike his adversary had inexhaustible reserves of Chakra and a Bijuu in his body "Kotoamatsukami!" as soon as Naruto made eye-contact with the man he froze if only for a split second, falling directly into the grip of Danzo who caught him by his throat, lifting him up into the air "You Foolish boy, did you seriously expect to defeat me? I commend you for putting up a brave effort, but in the end it was futile…you're mine now"

"Raiton: Kangekiha" an arc of electricity struck into Danzo's back, making the man scream out painfully, letting out spasms from the shock and dropping Naruto to the ground. The perpetrator sent a high-kick to Danzo's chin which sent the man careening into the ground, his teeth grinding against each other from the force of the kick.

"No he is not" Danzo slowly pushed himself from the ground to see Higure lifting Naruto up to his feet and breaking him out of the ultimate Sharingan Genjutsu.

Naruto coughed wildly before glaring at Danzo intensely, the former elder stared at the Uzumaki duo impassively; his gaze unblinking as small lines of blood dripped down his lip.

"It is time to end this Danzo; you have pushed your luck too far this time"

"I suppose so however, I wasn't finished just yet…" the man clutched at his right hand as it wriggled, exposing a small grotesque facial appendage on the man's pale shoulder. The man's Chakra spiked exponentially making Higure's eyes widen in shock, and then the man's arm exploded out In a large rooted tree bark, flying and snaking toward Naruto and Higure who were both frozen in shock to dodge. Higure jumped in front of the blond, pushing him out of the way as a large stray Root pierced into him and the remainder of the tree ensnared him by its roots and slowly lifted him up into the air.

"Ojii-san!" Naruto shouted out as he saw the man getting caught by Danzo's Jutsu, the blond stormed toward his sensei, looking to offer help however a jaw-snapping kick stopped him, sending him sprawling into the ground where he crashed with a loud groan before he wobbly stood up, his face set in a snarl as he swayed slightly.

"You bastard!" Naruto's Chakra spiked dramatically once again, a red hue of Chakra covering him "You won't take him away from me as well, you hear me? I won't let you!" the blonde's fist clenched as he looked at his suspended fellow clansmen and teacher who was struggling to get lose under the Roots of the large tree that had ensnared him and also bleeding profusely. Danzo merely stared emotionlessly at Naruto, tearing his pallid right hand from the wooden bark carefully.

Naruto's brought his hand forward, pointing it at Danzo's form, the man tensed in anticipation. "Banshou Ten'in" however he was unprepared for a sudden strong pull of gravity which uprooted him and sent him flying toward Naruto who caught the man with a strong neck grip, as demonic features made themselves visible on the blonde's face yet again.

"Y-you foolish boy. F-for such a skilled killer and Jinchuuriki, you truly are a disappointment...just like your mother" the black-haired man mocked the blond, his toes were tip-toeing off the ground from the way the blond was holding him neck-by with a crushing grip. Naruto's eyes widened as he heard the man say that, his eyes glazing over as his form trembled, his free fist clenched so tight, Blood was dripping down it.

The air suddenly became cold and then a cloak of purple chakra exploded out the blond, enshrouding him with purple chakra most likely the combination of his chakra and that of the Rinnegan's spiritual energy….

Naruto kneed the man hard, making him sputter and gasp, slowly removed a large black rod-like blade, stabbing it mercilessly into Danzo's wrist and pinning him against the tree. He felt control over his body slipping; he was riding by instinct and the words whispering in his head, telling him what to do. Another black rod emerged from his sleeve and he drove it into the man's other hand and drawing another pained grunt out of the emotion-dead man. He removed another rod and plunged it through Danzo's knee. Blood gushed down the man's entire form, mixing with sweat as he dropped to the ground while harsh wheezing pants escaped his throat. Naruto looked at him with a cold look; "Now it's time for you to die" Naruto went with the instincts and planted his hand on the man's head, and muttered the first innate thing that came to mind at the time as he considered killing Danzo 'Ningendou'

Blood was gushing down Danzo's chest profusely, his lip was swollen and bleeding and his eyes closed in pain but the man smirked "Y-y-you f-fool, heh, did you think I will simply go down so easily? If I can't have the Kyubi then no one can. I will take both you two with me to hell" Naruto's hand was on the man's head, and a faint trace of blue could picked up from underneath it.

Naruto watched as the man's chest-line glowed with four seals and his Chakra spiked dramatically, the sign of a Juinjutsu. With unbelievable pain tolerance, the man tore one of his hands from the bark of the tree before wrapping it around the blond and restraining him while his other head was still planted on the man's shoulder. Naruto wondered what the man was up to with his antics as he gripped him with his bloody hand in a firm grip, completely clueless to what the man had planned.

Higure recognised the danger quickly, struggled to free himself from the Mokuton Root bindings despite his struggle only drawing more of his blood away. Finally with his last remaining strength he tore himself from the enormous tree bindings and sprinted toward Naruto before using Kawarimi to substitute himself with his blond grandson as the Shimura's seal gave off one last glow and black goo sputtered to the ground, shooting from the man's chest and in every direction, a very large sphere grew from the man's chest, covering a very respectable distance as it pulsated wildly.

Naruto, as he was pulled out from Danzo dragged with him a blue-ish white spectre of the man's soul, landing on the ground with a loud, unceremonious thud, the blond looked to his grandfather to see him staring at him with a sad smile on his face while he mouthed something the blond could read due to the adrenaline that was affecting his nerves. The man's hand was on Danzo's chest, and he raised it into the air slowly. Wondering what was happening Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the influx of Chakra circulating within Danzo and knew that whatever was going to happen wouldn't be good for his sensei's health..

He abruptly stood up and was about to run toward his sensei to help but saw him shaking his head in disapproval before mouthing a simple "Run!" Naruto stood there frozen and before he could ask what was happening, a wave of water swept him by his feet, just in time as the whole sphere glowed a luminescent pure black colour before an earth-rumbling explosion went off, exploding out of Danzo and covering his sensei's form as well, making it hard for the blond to see at all. He saw as just as the dark sphere engulfed his sensei the man made a handseal, a look of intensity on his eyes "Raiton: Kaminari no Tatehashira" an enormous pillar of white loud, crackling lightning, bigger than anything he had ever seen and seemingly spanning unbelievable distances parted out of the dark clouds from earlier, parting them as it descended from the heavens like some almighty deity and crashing into Danzo's black sphere just as it went off and compressing on it.

A large earth-tearing explosion rocked the ground, causing great terrifying tremors to shake the earth, tearing the whole landscape apart as the pillar vs sphere exploded from the friction they were exerting on each other.

"OJIIII-SAAAN" A wide-eyed Naruto was carelessly flung away from the impact, his body flying through the air from the resultant shockwave and that was to be the last thing he saw as he was engulfed by darkness, losing consciousness as he was knocked out….

* * *

**Translations  
**

**Shuradou: Asura path/Ghost realm **

**Ningendou: Human path**

**Raiton: Kaminari no Tatehashira- Lightning Release: Falling Pillar of Lightning**

**Doton: Dosekiryuu no Jutsu- Earth Release: Earth Dragon technique**

* * *

** Well there it is folks, sorry for not updating on schedule, but I…well I had created a masterpiece only for it to get lost when the computer I was using flushed everything out. My laptop is out of order; literally It has been fucked up after the screen was cracked by some idiot during a lesson.**

**When that happened I swear I swallowed my pride and went to the bathroom and cried my ass off.**

**Everyone please note, I will disappear from you for a while, shit has just hit the fan with my academics and I want to do extremely well this term. My progress on chapter nine won't be as quick as it was on this one since I have a lot of work. So I will merely be grabbing every small opportunity afforded to me every day to at least type out a few words in regards to BOTH my stories, I won't make any promises or give out exact dates on when the next update will be but it won't be soon, this month will be my busiest and I hope you all understand.**

**I'm currently still just on a 1000 words for chapter 9 and will work slowly on it…**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter regardless and PLEASE REVIEW… **

**The immortal signing out…**


	10. Aftermath, Stolen memories and Summons

**So I was taken to a mental institution for saying Naruto was mine and as a result I have to be careful with what I say….so I don't own Naruto.**

**I am proud of how far I have gone in just a short span of time, this story is nearly close to hitting 100 000 words and I will keep updating regularly at a moderate pace (probably weekly or within two weeks). **

**Anyway it has been brought to my attention that this story should have more reviews than it currently does. So I would like to ask those who believe it should to Review because the unbelievable thing is that this story has accumulated and eclipsed 31 000 hits and many favourites and follows which makes me wonder really where the reviews 'disappeared' to.**

**So please review but do not feel obligated to, because the review is YOUR opinion, feedback or critique of the story and YOU decide whether you want to post it or not. So if you don't feel the need to, don't do it… **

* * *

**Chapter 9: Aftermath, Stolen Memories and Summons**

* * *

**(Namishu) **

The wind howled past the trees of a desolate and destroyed landscape. The once tall, towering trees were turned upside down and had been eviscerated; now lying on the ground in mere splinters of wood and seemingly pitiful shells of their former selves. The earth itself had also been torn apart with the remains of some houses and large boulders seemingly having been disintegrated into fine dust. The howling wind drowned out the soft chirping of birds in the dreary wasteland or any other activity as it blew about with whistling wisps. The sun had disappeared behind the mountains, its afterglow washing the area in the magnificent orange glow that was the sunset.

Amongst the trash of rubble lay a small figure whose body was slightly buried within a small blanket of dirt. His dirty mop of hair and whiskered face was peeking out from underneath the pile of loose earth which was fraught with small bits and pieces of debris.

It was evidently obvious that this area had just endured a very intense battle that had left it demolished beyond recognition.

Naruto stirred briefly before he awakened from unconsciousness with a low groan as he got up and shook the rubble of dirt off of him. He soon realised what a mistake that would be as he was immediately greeted with a stinging and pounding headache in the back of his head that made him drop to his knees. As he dropped to his knees and his hands made contact with the ground, he immediately felt something being held in his hand. It was strangely neutral in feelings or to the touch and wiggled feebly in an attempt to escape his grip.

What greatly confused Naruto was while he could feel he was holding something he felt as if it had no material form, almost like…an apparition of some kind. It was there but at the same time, it had a feeling to it which warned the blond it wasn't. He looked on through lidded eyes to his right hand and once he did, his ripple-eyed gaze was met with the sight of a wide-mouthed light purple-ish spectre being held firmly in his right hand while it squirmed in his grip. Naruto's eyes went wide with dismay as suddenly the earlier events of the day came crushing back into his head and he flung the immaterial thing he remembered to have pulled from out of Danzo into the air.

He slowly wobbled to his feet and cast a look around and was met with destruction only, a wide mile-spanning crater remained from the explosion the dangerous pillar of lightning his sensei had summoned and Danzo's Kinjutsu had caused as they went off against the other. A large trench separated from the crater and the water Higure had summoned from the ground had collected to form a winding stream and water flowed now seemingly as a new addition to Mother Nature.

A slightly glazed over look entered Naruto's eyes as for some strange inscrutable reason he felt himself be drawn into his mind, not the mindscape, but the part of his mind that accommodated memories.

* * *

_**(Absorbed memories manifestation -first person view)**_

_Tears poured down Naruto's face as he stood before a cemetery filled with countless graves and people all weeping and looking gloom. He was the lone person and had no one with him while he stared at a countless gravestones all which ended with the last name 'Shimura'._

_His shoulders were sagged and the river of tears wouldn't abate as he just let them flood down his face "Tou-san, Ojii-sama…" he choked out, wiping at his face in a futile attempt to stem the wave of tears._

* * *

_Naruto found himself standing along with two young people who were both staring forward with eyes filled with intensity and undivided attention. A few feet away from him and behind a large table sat a fair-skinned man with white spiky hair and he was clad in blue metal-plated armour with a black jumpsuit underneath. His pale orange red eyes were scrutinizing the young men before him while his face which had a marking under his chin and single marks under each of his eyes._

"_You called Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked the man while he perched on one knee with his face bowed as a sign of respect, the others beside him in the same stance. _

_The man regarded the three who were clad in black Shinobi clothing with his intense eyes "Hai. I have decided that you, Kagami and Torifu will serve under me as a side team I have compiled." _

_Naruto envied the man greatly for both his position and his attitude and it was because of that he wished to one day be classified in the same category as the Nidaime Hokage. _

* * *

"_One of us will have to divert their attention" the voice came from a youth with shaggy black hair which framed his face and legendary Sharingan eyes. _

"_A decoy? It means certain death. So who?" a young man with a robust build, short spiky black hair and black eyes with markings under them and on his face asked while looking at his comrades with an intent filled look. _

_A long uncomfortable and tense silence followed the chubby boy's question as everyone mused within themselves. _

"_I will go" the sudden declaration voice brought a shocked look out of Naruto before he looked toward the owner._

"_Sarutobi…" a young man wearing glasses and with dark brown hair said with some measure of surprise in his voice._

_Naruto felt those words slam against his body like a blow from the Kyuubi._

"_Hiruzen, you…" _

"_Don't worry! I may not look it, but I know I'm better than any of you. I won't die" Naruto just stood there, feeling his body strangely static with shock._

_Naruto felt his figure stop trembling in fear and relief wash over him before his head lowered in shame for reasons unknown to him. He felt a hand grasp his shoulder and looked to see Sarutobi smiling at him brightly "Look after the others, Danzo. I know you'll-"_

_Naruto slapped the young man's hand away, glaring at him with a look filled with intensity "SHUT UP! I was planning on volunteering! Don't try to steal the spotlight! I'll be the decoy!" _

_The other teen just blinked at him, some measure of surprise in his eyes at seeing him behave in such a manner "Danzo…"_

_**(Short Real-Naruto POV)**_

_Danzo? Naruto wondered while on the outside he spoke against his will…what did the younger version of the Sandaime mean when he referred to him as Danzo. Couldn't they see who he was? What was actually going on here? Where was he exactly? He felt as if his mind was playing weird tricks on him and that he was losing his mind. He was seeing things which should not be real and he knew for some reason that he had seen the elder man in blue armour that was with the group before._

_He could see that he was there but that he wasn't physically. He could nearly feel the sensations one would experience but it felt as if he was watching through someone else's eyes. _

_**(End Naruto POV)**_

_You are all the carriers of the will of fire and young as you are, you will need to defend Konoha in the future" a man dressed in blue samurai-esque armour began, the group of youths crouched around in a circle sending their stares toward him. His calm and composed voice and posture despite the situation told the obvious that the man was quite powerful and for a strange reason he felt as if he had seen the man before. _

"_No! You are the Hokage! There's no greater Shinobi in the village than you!" Naruto's voice interjected "There's no greater Shinobi in the village than you!" there was a glimmer in the man's eye almost as if he had just gauged something from the statement by the black-haired. _

"_Danzo, you are always competing with Saru over one thing or another, but what's necessary here is for you to unite and work together as comrades. Do not make this a personal fight" The man berated Naruto with an inscrutably-calm voice. _

_He continued "The fact is, you took too long to reach a decision. You must first look at yourself rationally and know yourself. Otherwise, at this rate, you will place your comrades in danger." Naruto's head fell at that as the man continued listing his mishaps. _

"_In any case, Danzo and Saru…you two are still young, so don't be hasty. Your time will come. Until that time, stay alive" _

"_Saru…" the man called the young Hiruzen's attention as he stood up, staring down at the young man with a clan stare of his pale pupilless orange eyes "Protect those who love the village and those who believe in you. And nurture those to whom you can entrust the next generation."_

_The man levelled an eye at the youth; his calm facial posture remaining as it usually was albeit with a slightly serious intensity to it "Starting tomorrow, you are the Hokage!"_

* * *

Slowly Naruto blinked as the whole landscape transformed yet again and he found himself sitting in a large room filled with men and women clad in the Konohagakure-nin Uniform. His heart froze at the sight of the familiar room they were in and loud alarm bells rung wildly in his head. Just as he tried to move he found himself incapable of doing so, almost as if he was bound to the seat he was perched atop. He sent an awkward glance to his right to see an elderly man with grey hair, a beard and wearing glasses. His face was set in a frown but his posture showed a calm demeanour. He was wearing a garb Naruto recognised to be similar to the Hokage's and ones which the elders of Konoha's council would often frequent. To his farther left sat the Sandaime Hokage and next to him sat an elderly woman Naruto normally saw in the office.

The air was tense in the room and Naruto did not like it. His fears of being captured in Konoha weighed down on him, stripping him of his ability to think clearly or even speak for that matter.

He tried to speak.

Nothing came out.

What is this?

What's happening to me?

"_We repelled the Kyuubi, but the sacrifice was far too great" the Hokage said as he levelled an eye at those who sat before them, his statement making Naruto's eyes widen in both confusion and dread._

"_Let us save that for another time. Right now Konoha is without a Hokage" the elderly woman interjected with a clam voice. _

"_Someone from the generation that came after Minato's would be a good choice" a man with two scars on his face, and black hair tied back into a ponytail and clad in the Konohagakure flak jacket with a deer-skin overcoat spoke. There was a slightly lazy look about him but his eyes screamed of immeasurable competence and power. _

"_Yes, we have nurtured fine Jounin but none of them have the experience necessary to take over the helm" Koharu said calmly, her seldom open eyes coming into view for a brief moment of time. _

"_Well then is there anyone else?" Shikaku asked regarding the elders with a questioning look. _

"_Well…" Naruto was surprised as his form shifted in response to the question, words flying out of his mouth without his control. He was just about to stand up but was halted when the Hokage stood up. His abrupt action drawing surprised looks out of everyone._

"_It cannot be helped. This is a critical time in the village. I shall return to the helm of Hokage" Hiruzen declared calmly, his eyes showing his absolute seriousness. _

"_Oh, that is wonderful" Homura spoke with a smile, his gaze focused on the former Hokage._

"_If you are willing then…"_

"_You stepped down once. Are you up to the task this time? Regardless of the fact that you went after the Kyuubi, you still failed to save the Yondaime" Naruto said, sending a scrutinizing low stare to the Hokage._

"_That remark is uncalled for" Homura said sternly._

"_Despite your criticism, you were not even there at the time…"_

_The intense atmosphere was swept off when the Sandaime let out a somewhat out a dryly humorous laughter while he looked toward Naruto almost as if daring him to argue. "Just indulge this old man. Let me fill in as Hokage until we can groom the next one"_

_Naruto just felt himself grind his teeth in anger before the scenery changed once more, surprising him once more._

* * *

_Another flash Naruto found himself on another time, it was Konoha yet again and he was standing next to the Hokage with various wrapped up human sized bundles surrounding them with a few ANBU standing over them and transporting them. The silver moon lit up the sky beautifully with the slight glow of the moon bathing the area in a pale twilight, adding to the suspenseful scene and horrifying scene that surrounded him._

_He was standing in the middle of a street within a large district, one he had ventured out to only a dozen times during his time in Konoha. It was filled with countless corpses and bodies of dead people. The Sandaime stood in front of him with his back turned to him and his hands folded behind his back and his tensed posture displayed he was greatly displeased._

_The aged man was glaring at him over the corner of his eye as he spoke "Danzo, I cannot allow you to act on your own authority any longer. As of this moment, you are relieved of your duties as second in command."_

"_But Hiruzen, I did it for…-" Naruto just closed his lone visible eye as he spoke. He could feel the anger and disgust in the other man's voice at him for what he had done._

"'_The good of Konoha'?" the other man interrupted him, cutting him off from saying what he was about to say. "Well then, the Uchiha clan belonged to Konohagakure."_

_Sarutobi turned around, giving Naruto a sideways glare with his intense eyes "Your ANBU and FOUNDATION will be dissolved! I will deal with you later. Until then, you are confined to your quarters!" the Hokage's intense tone unnerved Naruto greatly and he found himself having no retort to answer the man. With that said the man left, leaving Naruto behind who turned around not mere seconds afterward and strode down the district in the opposite direction._

_Two Anbu appeared at Naruto's side as he walked along the streets. Following and walking beside him clad in dark hooded cloaks "Danzo-sama, the body count doesn't match up." The Anbu on his right began._

_Naruto looked toward the man as he spoke "What did you say?" they stopped in the middle of the illuminated street as Naruto's gaze regarded the man._

_The man looked toward Naruto as he gave a response "It's like they just disappeared."_

_Naruto's aged black eye narrowed before he sent a low glance to his left to the Anbu in the bear-mask._

"_I witnessed everything" the Anbu began, his shadowed eyes coming into view and showing his red three tomoe eyes. Suddenly the wind grew much colder and thicker as it gave a wisp, blowing leaves around the area and fluttering the cloaks of all three men while Naruto and the other Anbu stared at the bear-masked Anbu. "And I will continue to watch" Naruto gave a slight wince as he felt the cold and now evolved eyes of the man which resembled a bladed pinwheel bore into him._

"_If you as much as touch Sasuke, I will pass on classified village Intel to every nation." With that said, the bear-masked Anbu burst into a murder of black crows, disappearing into the night. _

"_Damn you…" Naruto grinded his teeth at the now disappeared masked man._

* * *

_They were standing on the outskirts and the Hokage monument was visible from the background. _

_Naruto measured the blond before him who was staring at him with wide eyes and slight fear in his eyes. He saw as the blond Jinchuuriki before him nervously glanced about at the group of Anbu surrounding him who had pulled out their weapons and were staring at him as if daring him to._

That's…me? This happened before. What's going on here?

_Naruto just stared at the boy before him impassively before his wrinkled lips moved as he spoke "And just where you think you are going Kyuubi?"_

* * *

_Naruto inwardly gulped as the Sandaime Hokage levelled him with an intense glare. The other man was sitting just opposite of him atop a similar Tatami mat in his office. The air in the room was tense and Naruto had not seen the Hokage look at him in such a manner ever since the Uchiha clan massacre and to see him looking at him like that now unnerved him greatly._

_He found himself struggling with the urge to squirm uncomfortably under the man's intense gaze._

"_Danzo, you don't know how extremely repulsed and disgusted I am with what you have done. You have gone too far this time"_

* * *

Naruto found himself snapped back to the real world suddenly like a newly lit light-bulb. He was panting harshly and was clutching at his head as it continued as if it was a computer running on autopilot.

What is this?

What am I seeing?

Are these memories?

This was too much for his mind to take in. The endless amount of knowledge filtering into his head drove him mad. He didn't know if he could take any more of the visions. He found himself somewhat confused with who he was.

He blinked as he felt himself suddenly pulled into another vision.

* * *

_Naruto found himself staring at a pale-white skinned man with long slick hair and purple markings around his eyes and golden predatory looking eyes._

_Naruto just calmly stared at the man as he leant forward, an ear-splitting grin coming onto his pale face. His eyes glinted in a twisted manner as he chuckled lightly, his lilting tone drowning out the silence and echoing through the empty hallways of the room they were currently in._

"_You're playing a very dangerous game old man, I like it" the man's visage twisted into a very sick toothy smirk. _

* * *

_Naruto found himself upon a more recent and familiar scene as he stood before a calm but slightly tensed Higure Uzumaki and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Slowly he withdrew his hood, revealing his mop of black spiky hair and wrinkled face._

_He saw as the Jinchuuriki's face twisted into a look of abject shock and then fear…ah that's it. That was the effect he truly hoped to bring out of the boy but one that he was hoping to banish once he became part of his foundation. _

"_I have found you, Kyuubi Jinchruuriki"_

* * *

More and more clear flashes of activity came and went in quicker succession. They passed before his eyes in the speed of light, making him strain his eyes shut in an attempt to stop the strange visions but even when he closed them he could still see because they were not in his mind but rather his head and you didn't need eyes to see visions concocted by the mind. He felt his brain almost churning at the influx of information and knowledge he hadn't possessed before. His young fragile mind was not up to the task of mentally living through an entire lifetime of memories within only a brief span of minutes.

A lifetime of foreign memories were being filed into his mind at a rapid pace, far too quick than he could handle "ARGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH" Naruto screamed loudly, clutching at his head as what little resolve he had finally snapped it, the cluster of foreign memories proving too much for his sensitive and fragile young mind. The blond fell face first into the ground and merely lay there.

Drool escaped from the corners of his lips while his face laid skin to earth on the hard surface. His skin was pale and his rippled-eyes wide as saucers and incapable of blinking while he took long intakes of breath. He slowly felt the tell-tale signs of unconsciousness seep into his system as his eyes fell gradually and his mind warped him into the blissful call of sleep.

He awoke 10 minutes earlier later with a groan, and to the unpleasantly welcoming feeling of another throbbing headache which made its self-known the moment he raised his head as he stood up. He swayed slightly with shaky legs, having to retort to balancing himself on one knee to prevent himself from caving in. After a short of growing accustomed to his pulsating headache, he let his heavy lidded eyes roam the now darkened area around him, trying to work out the knots in his eyes that made opening his eyelids feel like a task that required great physical strain. The world around him seemed different somehow and his eyes looked at it differently as well. He certainly didn't know but it seemed as if he had wizened up and was aware of even the smallest details of what was around him.

He couldn't quite comprehend his new identity. Was he Shimura Danzo or Naruto Uzumaki or was he either both or neither both?

He certainly felt as if he had gone through and fought in a very gruelling and bloody Shinobi war. He knew that he was mentored by the Nidaime Hokage at some point or was he? He had done some very horrible things in his life, from the massacring of the Uchiha clan or even the interference with the Akatsuki organisation that led to the demise of that young man who was the leader of the revolutionary group from Amegakure no Sato.

The blond was caught up between two contrasting personalities. He felt as if there were two identities vying for control inside of him. So as Naruto stared ahead with heavy drooping eyes while balancing himself on his knees using his hands, he found himself suffering a bad case of identity confusion.

"Who...am I?" he mumbled softly with a whispered tone. His hands falling limply at his sides as he regained the balance he had lost moments prior. His face was bowed down and he was looking down at his shadow on the ground.

"Who am I!?" he repeated again absently.

"WHO AM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!?" he shouted out to the heavens loudly, his lone voice echoing throughout the desolate place and silencing the night critters. For some strange reason he felt a nagging feeling telling him to lift up his shirt and so he did and he was greeted to the sight of a partly faded black intricate seal with eight trigrams. His Chakra was wildly fluctuating with his moods and it had drawn out the seal keeping the Kyuubi at bay.

That train of thought was derailed as Naruto's eyes widened as realisation dawned on him. A possible solution to his case of his identity mix-up, it was very simple really and the presence of the seal on his navel had provided the most basic and undebatable answer.

He was Naruto Uzumaki…

* * *

Naruto walked with dull lifeless steps as he pondered on what to do now. The darkness surrounding him from the recent docking of nightfall not bothering him at all as he just aimlessly wondered through the lifeless area.

Higure and Hotaru were gone. What was he to do? Where was he to go? He had lost everything in a short span of time and had been left 'orphaned' for a second time in his life, however this time he was conscious enough of the heart-wrenching pain of loss and the memories of seeing the ones you love being murdered before your very eyes.

What angered him so much was that he couldn't waste the rest of his life seeking to bring justice to the cause of his pain, because they were gone and they had had the last laugh and had basked in the agony written across his face as they took everything away from him and left him empty and broken beyond repair. All he wanted was to be left alone, to live out his life in perfect ignorance toward the world and in a society where he would be accepted. He had found acceptance in both Higure and Hotaru and had been happy, however brief it was but fate still had other ideas for him. It deemed him not worthy of happiness and as such it had been mercilessly stripped away from him by the cruel hand of Karma.

That was just the way it was for him.

The world took from him and all he did was give or endure.

He gave up his freedom the day he was born, his happiness for that of Konoha and in return Konoha spat on him and then finally the world took his loved ones. The last thing he had had as well been one of the many things that had been taken from him by the cruelty that was fate.

He felt bitterness, anger and sorrow but above all he felt loneliness slowly peer into his broken heart. He had no reason for living, no family to look forward to. No Higure to tell him right or wrong or guide him in every turn. No Hotaru to scold him, indulge him and make him feel special and wanted. Her bright smile which lit up his world had vanished along with the cold sharp steel that claimed her life.

He was simply alone…again, alone to face the haunting nightmares of his life up to this point and it hurt more than anything he had ever imagined could hurt as bad. His life was messed up.

That thought made him stop abruptly.

His life?

Feh! What life?

His life had been one pathetic lie from the very start. Days, months and years of being constantly lied to by those he trusted with all his life plagued his time in Konoha and for a short time…here in Namishu as well.

Apparently his mother was a Jinchuriki before himself. He wanted to know what happened to her, to find out If she was dead also. There were two sources which could provide him with the desired answers but he didn't wish to see neither. Not after all that had happened and not with being angry at both of them. If he was still in Konoha and still naïve he would've considered it, but he now knew enough about the world to know it wasn't black or white with these new memories he had absorbed from Danzo, memories of which were in many ways unpleasant. It made him wonder how the man slept with all he did, but then who was he to judge? This world was ruled through deception and lies, it was all political, propagandist and things such as Jinchuuriki were part of that framework.

Another issue he had was Higure. He didn't know whether to be angry at the man for not telling him the truth about who he was or to be happy that he got to know his true grandfather, even if it was for a bleak period of time. He had so much he wanted to ask the man, but he knew he couldn't, given the situation he was in. it made his anger boil how unfair everything all was. He felt his Chakra rise up along with his rage before he released it all in one hard punch that split and tore through a large tree that stood behind him. He let his head fall at this feeling of helplessness, but before anything more could happen he felt something burn up along the entire length of his left arm, bringing a wince of pain out of the blond.

He clutched at his throbbing arm to alleviate the pain as he directed his pained gaze to his left arm to see numerous and countless Kanji burn themselves along his entire left arm, encoding within them a message of some sort in the form of Kanji symbols which coloured his arm black from how many they were.

He focused his gaze and began reading from his wrist-up.

"_Dear Naruto_

_I'm sad to say my time with you has come to an end. I understand if you are in turmoil over what you learned in the events of this treacherous day regarding your heritage and I'm sorry you had to learn in such circumstances. I engraved this message seal unto you when I did the Kawarimi with you because I understood that you'd be lost and without guidance. It is a seal I had developed for such occasions a couple of months after I met you. This world is full of dangers and evil, scheming individuals like Shimura and now that you are by your lonesome…they will come for you, either looking for what you possess or your eyes._

_At this moment you are still far too weak to defend yourself accordingly against some of them despite the training I put you through. I do not wish to see you spend out the rest of your life in suffering or….ending up like me. Which is why I have double layered this seal and beneath it is a Summoning contract scroll seal, which when it does appear you will be required to wipe out a small portion of your blood on in order for the contract scroll I sealed within you to appear. You will have to do two things from there on, which is writing your name on the contract with your blood and by placing all five of your fingerprints in blood on the scroll. To summon the summons you will have to offer another small blood offering and do this every time you attempt to summon, channel and mould your Chakra through these hand signs in this order; Boar, dog, bird, monkey and ram and plant your hand on the ground. _

_The summoning contract is yours and be prepared for the summons because they are….eccentric is the term, they have quirks but despite their notoriety they will treat you like family. _

_I'm sorry I couldn't spend more time with you, but I'm glad I got to know you and I'm sure your mother would agree as well. _

_However that isn't the main reason for my writing of this final message. That reason is, you're going to have to go…to Uzushiogakure no Sato. Home is where the truth lies about our clan and their relations with Konoha. Uzushiogakure has a cluster of scrolls hidden inside a large slightly-collapsed tower. You can utilise all of them for your training but be careful, our clan's techniques are not ones to be practiced without adequate training or knowledge in the art of Fuinjutsu. The summons would be able to help you get to your destination, just tell them your name and that you are the new holder of the summoning contract. _

_In regards to your Rinnegan eyes I believe that I have glimpsed a bit of understanding from watching your battle with Shimura and his men. The abilities that you have which you call 'Ningendou, Gakidou, Shuradou and Tendou' are part of the six which I believe gave the Rikudou Sennin his notorious godly name. I have also hypothesised that Tendou is the path that may be involved with the tale of the Sage and the moon, the fact that you have some measure of gravitational powers of repulsion and the recently acquired attraction means these two must have been involved in the creation of the moon which means that the legend of the Sage is indeed real. You already possess four abilities of the six paths which means there is two more to go if legend is correct, half of it which already is as proven by your abilities which connect with the story._

_However what happened today just goes to show Naruto that you are going to have to watch your back. If an ill-willed person were to get their hands on those eyes, the effects would be catastrophic for the whole world. Train hard and do not grow complacent with your strength or become arrogant, there is always room for improvement and a Shinobi never stops learning or training both body and mind._

_I hope you can learn to move on and make new friends and find new loved ones. It will not be easy but the least you can do is to try. Happiness is for everyone Naruto. _

_Well this is goodbye then Magomusuko. I will miss you dearly; my only regret is that I never told you how much I loved you…_

_-Your idiotic senile Grandfather"_

As the small scribblings faded into nothingness, tears were freely rolling off of Naruto's face. However he forced them away as he saw that now only a black wrist-covering marking remained on his arm. He bit his palm and wiped the blood on the seal and a poof of smoke appeared and a large scroll fell out of it and to the ground. Naruto picked up the scroll which was slightly taller than he was and strapped it to his back.

He turned around before walking away, now to do his role and fulfil the old man's wish.

It was time to face the world. He was no longer going to be bound by fear, emotions or the norms which bound man to his duty and coaxed him to live life in a specific manner that adhered to the rules.

He was not a puppet. He was no one's toy and his life wasn't anyone's but his to toy with. It was not he rose above the fear of never being accepted and it was now time he stopped believing things will change and that his life would become better. It was time he gave up believing the world would change overnight and that he would fit in within that system. He had tried but it rejected him, some would call it misfortune but for Naruto, now armed with a great deal of knowledge and experience knew it was all political.

He was born out of sacrifice and witnessed hell in the first few moments of his life. He had seen the uglier side of mankind, had been a victim of circumstance and thus he knew the struggle would have to end. He was a wolf trying to fit in amongst sheep and his life was a constant struggle of trying to prove that point but no more.

Today he had seen hell, had experienced sorrow, pain, agony and heartbreak and had spilled blood in his vengeance and retribution. If the world had it for him and if Kami got her kicks out of making him suffer then he was going to blow through whatever any deity threw his way. It was him against the world and he was ready…

* * *

**(An Hour later) **

Thunder ripped through the sky almost as if in the sign of a bad omen, washing the area in a fleeting wave of light that was lightning. Dark rainfall clouds loomed over the area and it was clearly evident the heavens were going to let loose very shortly.

Drip. A single drop fell on Naruto's face but he paid it no heed, not even seeming to notice it at all.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Another fell on his cheek and then another on his forehead and another on his back in quick tapping sounds.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Then a shower of falling water broke out as the heavens opened up, the natural showers of cleansing tears being turned on by the almighty deities above.

The agonizingly soft and cold pitter-patter sounds of rain rang throughout the clearing. Naruto was standing in the middle of all this, just taking it all and his dozen of clones standing beside him, carrying a large lamp they had salvaged from the ruins which served to provide them with the necessary source of light in the darkened desolate area.

There were a dozen of the blonde's clones which were carrying two wooden makeshift caskets which Naruto and his clones had created. Two six feet deep triangular holes of varying lengths were dug up and creating high mounds of upturned earth around the hollow spaces. The two wooden coffins were closed and it was obvious this was not a humorous event but a painful and unpleasant rushed burial.

Naruto was staring at the two dreaded containers, not quite willing to accept that both of his loved ones were stuffed within them. He knew the truth and that was they were gone but he couldn't quite bear the fact that he was going to be sending them into the deep, cold and eroding earth to be degraded and eaten by the soil. He couldn't accept this; he couldn't absolutely accept the fact that these two would now be mere nourishment for whatever crawled underneath the ground. It was sickening to even think of but it was the belief that when all humans die they should be returned to the earth and become a part of it. He remembered how he had read about that a few months ago but had cast it aside, not believing he would one day be in a situation where he'd be the one to prematurely administer his loved ones' journey to the afterlife.

Thus, here he was…

"Oyabun…?" a clone looked at the real blond with a questioning and expectant look. After a long uncomfortable silence of Naruto not speaking he eventually nodded to the doppelganger which turned to its fellow copies to convey the message. Naruto just stood there staring at the deep holes with an inscrutable look in his eyes and his face strikingly impassive. He didn't even regard the Kage Bunshin as they separated into two groups and began shuffling the two coffins into their respective awaiting resting places.

He just lifelessly stood there. The pounding rain washed over him and soaked him to the bone while his eyes just stared at the freshly dug up soil which was now large mounds of muddy earth. Naruto's eyes had a look of forlornly in them while he aimlessly stared ahead as the sounds of shovelling and steel hitting ground began as his Bunshins moved the soil back into the empty space it had been recently removed. With every spadesful shovel of muddy earth into the holes and atop the coffins which held the bodies of Higure and Hotaru Naruto felt his heart drop and ache, he found himself struggling to resist the temptation to stop his clones from filling up the burial holes. He somehow held on to the fleeting childish fantasy that they might still be alive but the endless amount of knowledge and experience he had stolen from Danzo told him it wouldn't make a difference because they were long gone. Their cold to the touch and pale skins had shown that much earlier when he retrieved them. Besides he knew that if he left them lying around and hoping they would awaken then they would start to break down and that would be certainly unsavoury and not something he would like to see happen.

Naruto turned around before leaving, his heart refusing to accept the scene before him.

At times like these he was glad he had learned the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, because he was sure he would've broken down if he had to do all that by himself.

After walking for almost twenty minutes, he felt the memories of his Kage Bunshin slowly seep into his mind as they dispelled, telling him they had finished the job of burying Higure and Hotaru. It seemed they had the forethought of even putting something to indicate who was buried where and for that Naruto was glad somewhat. It pained him how helpless he felt at the moment and how alone he was as he walked calmly amongst the quiet and noiseless clearing. Naruto merely closed his eyes in an attempt to shut off the pained feelings that threatened to rack his heart before steeling his eyes and his resolve.

He stopped as the landscape changed and gave way from the previously pitiful and damaged clearing to a fairly greener and tree-filled area of land. Looking around him to ensure there was adequate space for what he was about to attempt, he sighed as he saw that there was in the form of a wide grassy clearing. Closing his eyes and recalling his instructions, Naruto cut his right hand thumb with his canine before he hand brought his hands forth and weaved through the summoning handseals very slowly paying no heed to the pouring rain which was causing his black outfit to cling to his surprisingly masculine build.

Naruto slammed his hand against the ground, a seal matrix spreading from his palm "Kuchiyose no Ju-"

"BOOOOMMMM!" a large cloud of red smoke exploded suddenly before Naruto could even finish calling out the name of the technique. The large veil of smoke obscured Naruto's view, making it hard for him to see what it was he had summoned.

"**Oy, it's been a long time since someone summoned me…"** Naruto heard a booming voice declare from behind the towering cloud of smoke.

The cover of smoke that obstructed Naruto's view slowly lifted and as soon as it did he found himself face to face with large amber coloured eyes and a long black beard. **"Well are you the one who summoned me…pipsqueak?" **the strange creature asked in a relatively carefree voice.

"Eh?" Naruto blinked at the sight of the creature, unlike normal summon animals, what he had summoned was…well didn't fit that category and was far from being called an animal. What stood before or rather floated was the appropriate term, was a being with an upper torso that was identical to a human being's and complete with arms, a head with long slick black hair with a few red strands and other normal human features. It was donning red and black samurai-esque armour that covered its shoulders, chest, and had bronze-coloured skin with large fiery red veins traversing its skin with a bulky and heavily muscled frame. The lower half of its torso or rather the lack of one was what caught Naruto's undivided attention. It was made of fiery smoke from the hip-down which was what helped the figure before him float. It stood tall, its figure towering over everything else within the wide green tract of land.

Naruto blinked and blinked and then blinked again. This…whatever thing before him was a man, well, a half man with smoke for legs. This thing couldn't be what he had summoned, there had to be a mistake. Naruto repeated the hand signs again and slammed his hand on the ground and in another fiery cloud of smoke another one appeared, but unlike the other one it had a fierier ember coloured skin and rippling muscles with black hair and donned the same samurai-esque armour. A slight look of concealed contemplation appeared in both of the eccentric looking humanoid creature's eyes as they finally glimpsed at Naruto's eyes, something which Naruto didn't miss it.

The other one looked between Naruto and the first creature he had summoned and waved "Hi…" it spoke politely, discarding and throwing whatever intimidating atmosphere it had established about itself out of the window. Naruto's jaw just fell slightly but he kicked himself back into composure a moment after but the signs of shock were still clear on his face.

Naruto managed to compose himself enough to speak "How can you be Summons? You're not even animals..." he asked incredulously.

It was the first bronze-skinned summon which moved to answer **"And we are neither human too, because our kind cannot be classified as humans it means we can form pacts or contracts with humans should we wish to. Well I formed one with humans for my kind because I was a bit…bored?"** it added at the end its fairly wise posture disappearing.

Naruto blinked and groaned slightly and sent confused glares toward the two behemoths. "Then what kind of…creatures are you?"

The black haired giants grinned mischievously before nodding to one another and the two transformed into two singing monkeys, and then into two drunken naked men who spoke in succession after one another **"I am the bad, the incredible, Jinyancha"** the first summon went into a ridiculous stance with its hands spread wide apart in a flying posture and its left knee folded in a magical girl pose.

"**And I am the slick Mosuurei" **the second summon entered its own pose.

**"AND WE…ARRRRREEEEEE THE MIGHTIEST OF THE MIGHTY…**" they shifted into another form, taking the form of a very curvaceous woman who blew a kiss at Naruto and then finally into a very large eagle and settling back into their true form.

"**JINN CLAN!"** they exclaimed both at once while staring at Naruto, before snapping out of their ridiculous stances and bumping their fists against the other.

Naruto just blinked, causing a large sweatdrop to fall down Jinyancha and his brethren's back.

"I have no idea what that is…" Naruto said with a bored tone in his voice causing a look of abject and comedic dejection to appear on Mosuurei and Jinyancha's face before their shoulders simultaneously sagged and in a puff of smoke an umbrella appeared in each of their hands as rain clouds swelled over their head. They had also shrunken down to almost the same size as Naruto in comedic style.

"**Seriously kid, you sure you don't know?"** the now shrunken Jinyancha mumbled lowly in questioning bringing a slight smile of mischievousness out of Naruto.

Naruto just looked up in a feigned attempt of a thinking posture before he spoke "Never, dragons are better tho-" he was cut off from finishing that thought by Jinyancha, who was the larger and taller of the duo with his rough bronze-coloured muscles which had orange fiery veins.

"**WHAT! I'm telling you Jinn are the coolest creatures and summons that one can find. One we are smart, two we don't have fire for breath nor fart thirty times a day and three, we actually have brains larger than a peanut" **the summon creature said absently, behind it Mosuurei nodding his head along before his eyes widened along with that of the speaker as realisation dawned on both to what Jinyancha had just casually said.

Naruto blinked in surprise with a single eyebrow rising at that statement, his cheek puffed up somewhat as he struggled to resist the urge of laughing. His refusal to simply allow himself to burst made his form shake violently while his hands were holding his mouth in a futile attempt before eventually he burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

**"Wait, I didn't say what I think I said did I?"** Naruto just nodded in response while he still shook with laughter.

The clouds and umbrellas disappeared from the two genie's hands as they both went back to their true size and form **"Ah anyway, I'll have you know. I can turn into a dragon and it certainly isn't comfortable. I couldn't locate my ehm…certain anatomical parts and when I did, they were embarrassingly small"** the bearded Jinyancha spoke with a shrug of his shoulders, his statement drawing some surprise out of Naruto but he now understood that complete shape-shifting and not henge-ing was one of the Jinn summons' prime abilities. However that had to mean that Jinyancha had been alive during the age of the revered and feared mighty fire beasts, which made Naruto wonder how old the carefree giant actually was.

The abrupt question drew Naruto out of his musings **"Anyway, why am I here kid and what happened to Higure?" **

The moderately humorous and light atmosphere fell at that as the smile on Naruto's face fell and a look of realisation dawned on Jinpachi's face. "Oh I see then…well I am sorry young…?"

Naruto just gave a forced smile as he answered "Naruto…Uzumaki Naruto"

"**Well Naruto, am I to assume that you are the new holder of the Jinn summoning contract?"** the humanoid creature asked as his whole manner of speech and attitude took a stunning U-turn, his voice and mannerism conveying the knowledge and wisdom of one who had lived for centuries.

Naruto nodded while a slightly pensively sad expression had returned to his face but lighter in comparison to the one he had adorned earlier when the events of Higure and Hotaru's deaths were still fresh in his mind "Yes I am…he gave it to me…" his rippled eyes were focused on the wet grassy ground as the harsh rain fell on each small strand of green with soft tapping sounds.

Mosuurei interrupted the conversation between the two as he spoke**, **his own voice as well having a serious and urgent tone to it** "Jinyacha-sama, I shall deliver the news of Naruto-sama as the new holder of our contract to the elders right away" **

Jinyancha nodded his head and in a large puff of blue smoke Mosuurei disappeared and Jinyancha turned back to Naruto **"I would like for you to tell me the story behind your eyes or the Bijuu you hold…it is not every day one gets to meet a Jinchuuriki but better yet the wielder of the mythical Rinnegan"**

"You know…?" Naruto questioned with a clearly-audible surprised tone of voice.

Jinyancha merely gave a nod while he drank in the modest measure of surprise on Naruto's face **"Well yes I can sense malevolent entities and Bijuu are especially easy for me to pick up?"**

Naruto sighed smoothly before with a slight tilt of his head he stared at the gigantic summon as he offered a nod of concurrence "Well it's a long story; I'll have to tell you while we're on our way" he spoke as he slowly edged closer to the bronze-coloured genie with slow, calm steps.

With an eyebrow raised tenderly, Jinyancha stared thoughtfully at Naruto his mental screws turning as he wondered where they could be going at this time of night **"Oh, we are going somewhere. Is that the reason you summoned me?"**

"Hai…can you turn into something which can travel long distances fast. Preferably one that can fly" Jinyancha nodded before he was engulfed by smoke and in his place stood a mighty giant of a bird with golden wings and a yellow feather-lined skin with golden stray feathers and a tail which had many colourful curved plumages which were covered in magnificent bright flames, lighting up the whole area. It had the same coloured amber eyes as Jinyancha's proving that not everything changed when he transformed.

Naruto found himself drawn to the magnificence and beauty of the bird species Jinyancha had morphed into, its colourful appearance had a mythical and legendary appearance to it that one only heard of in those fairy tales or folkloric tales. Its bright flame engulfed form gave off a warm feeling and it shone as bright as and almost more magnificently than the sun and surprisingly didn't burn at all.

Naruto knew this was another legendary mythological creature and thus he made sure to savour and relish the sight of Jinyancha's new form.

"**And where is that? Grandson of Higure" **the now transformed Jinyancha queried, while looking at Naruto with his amber eyes, in fairly the same tone as in his normal Jinn form.

Naruto took a long relaxed intake of breath as he almost felt a strange sense of nostalgia as he considered what he was about to say "Home…" he simply muttered making Jinyancha's eyebrow raise in a sign of clear elaboration expectation. Naruto leaped onto the back of Jinyancha's feathery shoulders, careful to use Chakra to keep himself from falling losing balance as he settled himself onto the back Jinyancha's neck, grabbing his large golden feathers in his hands "We are going to Uzushiogakure"

With a nod of understanding and knowing exactly where that is, Jinyancha took off with a quick beating of his mighty wings which consequently roused a large cloud of dust to pick up and leaving behind stray small flames which scattered around from Jinyancha's form. Soon they were in the sky with the wind rushing past their forms and flapping Jinyancha's wings against Naruto's face which held a slightly serene look to it as being so high up; despite being frightening brought a reasonably calming feeling to him. The rain hadn't abated but it was now slightly better that Naruto didn't mind it and had his eyes plainly squinted to keep the drops of water out of his eyes.

His eyes were filled with intent but for now he was focused on one task and putting off feeling sorry for himself.

Making his family proud…

The two disappeared into the sky in a golden blur with a few stray flames forming a trail behind them which could be seen all the way down from the ground.

* * *

**(Konohagakure- 1 day later) **

"Koharu, Homura" Hiruzen calmly spoke as his two senior advisors walked into the room in tow.

"Sarutobi, we need to talk about our 'issue'" Koharu said, not feeling the need to troll around the issue as she and Homura came to a stop before the village leader who sat behind his large desk.

Homura nodded as he continued, a composed atmosphere clearly surrounding him despite the frown on his face "Our village cannot go on without its Jinchuuriki. The balance between the five nations has been disturbed with the disappearance of Naruto"

"If other villages were to find out about our Jinchuuriki-less status, it could put us in grave danger" Koharu continued while Sarutobi calmly filled the contents of his pipe before spitting a small flame of fire into it, igniting the contents within it.

Sarutobi took a long drag of the contents of his ever present pipe before releasing it all in one long weary sigh "I understand your concerns, however you know as well as I do that until we find Naruto. We will be threading on thin ice. If one of the other villages happens to stumble upon or learn of our current predicament, then we would have to prepare for the worst."

Homura frowned visibly, the trench on his forehead widening a bit more "But surely Jiraiya and his connections can find the boy"

Sarutobi turned in his chair, focusing his eyes on the outside where the rain was thundering harshly throughout Konoha in thousands of swift tapping sounds. It was times like these he worried about whether Naruto even had a shelter wherever he was and if he was eating adequately because he suffered from malnourishment even when he was here in Konoha. So did that mean was Naruto better off wherever he was? He didn't know but for now he just needed reassurance, to see whether Naruto was safe and whether he was being taken care of. The rest about his return to Konoha could wait, he at least wanted him to come and do his final year in the academy here in Konoha.

"Hopefully, but for now we will have to wait, remember there is still Danzo to worry about" the Sandaime responded to his fellow male and advisor.

Koharu frowned at that statement; her eyes squinted to the point where one couldn't tell whether they were open or closed "I still cannot believe that Danzo would go to such extreme measures for the boy…"

"Yes, we all know Danzo has always been ambitious but to directly go against you and abduct the boy behind you…"

Sarutobi frowned but just dismissed their statements with a wave of his hand "I don't care about Danzo right now. I just wish for Naruto to return, to return to his home. What would Minato or even Kushina say to me when I tell them I failed to protect their son barely Nine years into his life?" his eyes squinted in a melancholic expression as he finished speaking, almost imagining the disappointment that his predecessors and mostly his wife would fell toward him.

"I understand but we all failed the Yondaime so do not put the blame on yourself Sarutobi" Homura said as he rubbed at his forehead with his hand, a rare glimmer of guilt in his bespectacled eyes.

"Yes but the good news is that I dispatched two teams of Anbu black ops two days ago and I believe that we are now on the right track. Jiraiya sent information stating he had pinpointed his location. It appears he is still within Hi no Kuni and now all we would need to do is find him before he could escape the borders of the country"

The somewhat gloomy and depressing atmosphere was lifted off like a veil with that statement as it drew smiles out of both advisors "That is excellent news Sarutobi"

The Sandaime nodded before a knock interrupted any more conversation that were about to take place.

"Enter" Sarutobi declared before the door was slowly peered wide open and a person clad in the Anbu black ops uniform entered before bowing to the elders and the Hokage. "Ah Tenzou…I see you have returned"

The man nodded calmly before he spoke in a slightly muffled voice that was altered by the mask he wore "Hai Hokage-sama and I bring some…disturbing news"

There was an obvious disgruntlement that came with that statement as Sarutobi paused, not liking that statement at all and hoping it wasn't one which would drive him into an early retirement or possibly to his death. "Well..?" he asked while impressively managing to maintain his calm posture.

Tenzou spoke while his eyes were firmly focused on the Hokage's slightly anxious but hopeful ones "There were bodies, lots of dead bodies however the target was luckily not amongst them. They appeared to have all been killed using this… " the ANBU commander produced a black rod and handed it to the Hokage who seemed a little relieved but a bit depressed to hear they had not found Naruto.

Sarutobi took the black blade from the man while Homura and Koharu moved closer to have a closer analysis of the black rod. Looking at it curiously and noting how it felt warm and seemed to emit a low vibration, Sarutobi's eyes narrowed as he felt something "Well…this blade is used to transfer Chakra but it is quite sturdy and dangerous as well. But what I am worried about is the feeling of the Chakra I can feel coming from it, it feels familiar"

"Yeah, the feeling of its Chakra matches that of Naruto-kun's, but how he was able to use such weapons and even distribute his Chakra through them is a mystery. The material as well is strange and I have never seen anything like it and what is puzzling is that they were tens of them lying on the ground and either stabbed through the bodies of the victims"

"So it is safe to assume that Naruto was the one using these?" the Hokage asked impassively, his expression suddenly turning into one which Yamato couldn't quite read or determine but there was the intensity that he somehow could discern.

"Hai and also Hokage-sama, it seemed he used THAT Chakra again"

"What do you mean by that Tenzou-san?" Koharu asked pensively as they all as advisors to the Hokage knew about the ANBU commander's incredible sensory abilities and were thus dreading his answer.

"I mean that while on the way there and still about a day away, we could feel a large Chakra source from our position. I would surmise that Naruto was using close to four or five tails of the Kyuubi's Chakra for us to be able to sense it from how far we were."

"WHAT!" the obvious bellow of disbelief was surprisingly let out at the same time by the three elders as they stared intensely at the Mokuton wielder.

"Are you sure this is true Tenzou-san" Homura asked with a weary tone in his gruff voice, his glasses seeming to have now become a tad too big for his face.

Tenzou was thankful for the rigorous training he had received in ANBU because otherwise he would be shivering with fear at the untold amounts of murderous intent that was rolling off of the village leader in immeasurable waves. He composed himself as he continued "It is true. It seems Danzo-sama had found Naruto again and a battle had broken out and it ended with the annihilation of the entire ROOT faction"

"That fool…." Sarutobi said as he slammed his hand on the table, cracking it and drawing shocked reactions out of Koharu and Homura who seldom ever saw him loose his temper. Homura plopped himself to a seat tiredly, his elegance and calm clearly forgotten.

"And what of the fool? Did you find him?" Sarutobi still had a glimmer of anger in his aged sharp eyes and they were piercing through the ANBU commander. The Anbu knew that he wasn't looking at his lenient and calm headed Hokage but the legendary professor.

Understanding who the Hokage meant the masked man shook his head 'no' "Unfortunately we couldn't find him or even his body to gauge if he met the same fate. The scene appeared disturbed as well, almost as if someone had recently been there"

He leaned back down onto his seat "I see, was there anything else of noteworthy?" he gave a disappointed sigh rubbing at his grey goatee.

There was short pause as Tenzou mused on his thoughts to determine whether he had left anything out before giving his answer "No. actually yes. There was one thing…" he trailed off, drawing looks of interest out of the three former teammates.

Koharu looked at Tenzou quizzically as he was oddly quiet for a few seconds "Well…?"

The brown haired man braced himself as he opened his lips to speak "There were graves, two of them. One had the name Hotaru and the other…." The man nervously gulped down a mouthful of saliva as he gave a short pause, drawing looks of curiosity from the trio of Konoha elders.

"Tenzou-san?" Homura asked as the man again went silent almost as if afraid to speak.

"It had the name…." the elders leaned forward, fearing the worst case scenario which was Naruto's death "Uzumaki Higure on it" despite assuring the Konoha elders fears it didn't help them at all as their eyes all widened in shock. A wave of incredulousness rushed within the forms of the three at the shocking news presented to them.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Koharu bellowed with eyes glowing with disbelief and obvious shock to the news.

The other elder two men's eyes went wide in the same inelegant fashion as well. Sarutobi gently set his pipe on the table before letting out a strained sigh. His face now certainly looked aged and the wrinkles had now become more pronounced and the bags under his eyes were much thicker and darker. Overall it was clear the poor man was worried and driven mad by this issue involving Naruto.

It was days like these that he certainly felt his increasing old age.

His eyes narrowed wearily as he proceeded to scratch his white goatee in thought and careful contemplation "Is that so…?" he asked absently but there was a thoughtful expression on his wrinkled face.

"Hai" Tenzou gave the simple curt answer with a calm tone of voice.

The aged Sandaime asked the brown-haired ANBU whose short brown hair went in opposing ends above his mask "Was there any body?"

Tenzou's black almond-shaped eyes narrowed at that from behind his mask, his grim looking red and green marked mask shadowing his eyes as he moved to speak "No that is where the problem lays Hokage-sama. There were no bodies; they had all been…dug up. The graves had been defiled by someone" the ANBU commander uttered while looking up momentarily from his standing position.

Sarutobi hid his alarmed expression by maintaining a calm demeanour "Hmm, who could have done such a thing? It must be someone looking to cultivate the Uzumaki clan abilities or genetics for something and only one name comes to mind…" Sarutobi's eyes narrowed as he said that, everyone else understanding what he meant with his implicit statement.

Tenzou gave a nod of his head as he moved to respond "Yes I believe the snake is on the horizon yet again" Hiruzen sighed wearily once more before looking at the white porcelain-masked man.

He stood up, bearing and wincing off the cramps that knotted within his old but not yet frail body "Well thank you for the information Tenzou-taichou. You may leave Commander, you are dismissed" the man merely gave a curt nod before flickering out of existence in a blurrily-quick whirlwind of wind that was the Shunshin.

After the ANBU commander had left, a calm silence had settled between the three members of the former team Tobirama. The silence was broken when Koharu sighed softly before she spoke "Do you honestly believe that man was alive all this time? It is preposterous"

The aged Hokage gave another tired sigh as he looked at his former teammate with his sharp but sunken eyes "It certainly isn't improbable but it just complicates things with our case. From what I have glimpsed, it seems Naruto met Higure and was living with him. That means he knows the truth about our pact with Uzushiogakure, and his mother's fate"

The three all hummed in agreement to that, knowing about the pact made between Higure and Tobirama Senju which listed that those from the Uzumaki clan's head family had to provide a Jinchuuriki for Konohagakure no Sato in order to maintain their alliance and good relations. This was something which could be done through many methods, such as in Kushina's case where she had a son with a Hokage and creating a possible legacy of prospective Jinchuuriki in a line which only the heir could continue…

If only he hadn't ditched Konoha and ran away.

* * *

**(Otogakure no Sato- 1 day later)**

"Well…enlighten me" a lilting and softly purring voice spoke. The room they were in was dark with only a few candles providing light in the room. The man who had spoken sat atop a large chair with a young man in glasses and a devious smirk standing before him.

Kabuto pushed his glasses up with his hand, producing a glow out of them and giving him an ominous appearance that always intrigued Orochimaru whenever the boy would do it around him "Hmm, it was quite dangerous to collect such valuable data. I was lucky to escape with my life, but I suppose one needs a little bit of thrill and danger in life because it was quite the bloody battle as well." He spoke in a soft voice lined with carefreeness and slight arrogance which was very hard to pick on given his cheerful voice.

Orochimaru hummed as he looked at the smirking teenager with a curve on his own lips as well "What about the boy. Anything of noteworthy he displayed?" the Sannin immediately knew he had hit the right button with that question as 'the glimmer' appeared in Kabuto's bespectacled eyes while he smirked and pulled out three cards which he held up in-between his fingers.

"Well he certainly didn't disappoint. He brutally murdered close to 35 men and didn't even bat an eyelash. The bloodbath of the battle was…breath-taking. However there was a point where his tenant made itself known. But in the end the power of his great eyes and the Uzumaki legend's efforts brought Danzo to his knees"

Orochimaru's face broke into a baleful predatory grin as he digested the news brought forth to him "Kukuku, that is quite fascinating indeed Kabuto. Did you secure the bodies?" he asked as he leaned back into his chair, revelling in the tingling feeling of having things going well for him yet again. He wasn't disappointed that Danzo was dead. In fact he was glad the old fool had kicked the bucket or had it kicked for him in this instance and that only meant that all those connections he had made with the help of the man would be more cooperative and also he would be able to have Otogakure all to himself and at the same time erase Konoha from the map of the Elemental Nations without worrying about it being rebuilt again.

Kabuto moved closer to the man, standing beside him while the pale-skinned Sannin sat on his high chair, not even regarding the young man "Yes all three of them. I wasn't sure whether or not to leave Hotaru-chan's but I figured she would be a useful tool for leverage when the time comes."

The Sannin's golden slit-eyes gained an amused glimmer within them at something from the statement "Oh, he was attached to our little runaway toy wasn't he?" he questioned calmly while his gaze peered through the darkened hallways of the room. He always did love the darkness, there was something about sunlight that put him off and rarely did he leave or travel from his hideout.

Kabuto hummed in response as he answered "Very so, he practically lost it when she was killed. She's….his greatest weakness" he again toyed with his glasses producing that 'glimmering effect' which luckily no one was there to see beside Orochimaru who did so out of the corner of his eye. Whenever the grey-haired boy did that pushing of his glasses action it always made him look as if he viewed people, or other living beings as toys or something very complex to be broken down. It was the same look he had given Naruto when he commented him about his eyes.

It was unnerving and even to Orochimaru although he was intrigued by it as he often wondered what it meant.

The Sannin bared his relatively sharp canines as he smirked widely "Excellent news…" there was a brief reprieve of time of no words being exchanged between Orochimaru's and his trusted subordinate.

Kabuto spoke after a few minutes of comfortably creepy silence which did not bother the two men "Are you going to go after him? He has gone off to Uzushiogakure. Chances are he might run into our 'friends' soon. This is the best time to secure his eyes and his body as a vessel" the young man looked toward man as he chuckled. Kabuto was confused, he had thought his master would move for the boy but the man hadn't even mentioned anything involving that subject in their conversation.

Orochimaru's chuckle gave way to a thin sly-ish smile "No…for now we will leave him be until the time comes. Let us not forget **they** will not start lurking around until after a couple of years and when that time comes we will make our move. I will show those fools never to underestimate me" He just gave another ear-splitting grin as he casually looked at the grey-haired young man with an ominous glimmer in his own, but unlike Kabuto's which inspired unease this was totally terrifying as the man's long dark black hair fell over his face, with only one of his slitted golden eyes visible.

This was the smile of a predator.

"For now I still have a small project I wish to delve into involving the Sharingan and the Uzumaki clan DNA's abilities. You see I have made a shocking discovery"

Kabuto's eyebrow rose as he hummed in thought while a look of childlike intrigue appeared in his eye as he regarded the man whose gaze was now back on the dark halls of the room "Oh? And what might it entail? Orochimaru-sama"

A sinister laugh followed the question as Orochimaru stood up before looking at Kabuto with his ear-splitting toothy grin "Kukuku. Oh Kabuto, you always have to ask too many questions however this time I will indulge you. I have discovered a means to achieve…." His eyes practically glowed impossibly as he raised his pale-skinned hand and looked at it curiously.

"….True immortality"

* * *

**Translations**

**Jinn (Arabic term) - 'Genie' (THAT CRAZY THING THAT COMES OUT OF A POT AND SAYS "I CAN MAKE YOUR WISHES COME TRUE")**

**Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Summoning Technique**

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**Author End-notes**

**If you are confused, let me make it clear for you. Naruto didn't read Danzo's memories in the last chapter when he activated the Human path. He was about to but because of Danzo's Juinjutsu he couldn't as he was blasted away. As such because he pulled away the man's soul, he 'absorbed' his memories and they came back when he gained consciousness. **

**I don't know if that concurs with Kishimoto's theory but if not then it's mine…**

**Well now that that's over, the story will start moving and we will finally get our long awaited time-skip...review and tell me what you think about...well everything. **

**Non-Rant:**

***I will only say this once* - One: To those who don't like my way of writing or my stories in general, that's your right. You're entitled to criticize my work and you're entitled to a right to hate me if you so wish to (for no particular reason or for a reason) but I'm not the type of person who will rise to your taunts, 'my belief is in being the better man in any given situation'. Life has so much more to offer and I will not spend even a minute of my life telling someone I dislike them or what they do simply because I can…*as I say type this little non-rant, I'm as calm as a daisy***

**It is quite sad really but that's the world we live in these days. **

**It's a world that is ruled by the terms 'because I can' and 'I don't give a fuck'. **

**Two: I don't write in the preferred, traditional and famous method of writing fanfiction because I feel it is overused. So if you don't like this story because of that then spit on it, crush it under your shoe, go read other stories that meet your preferences and don't look back. I try to combine both styles when I write but if that's not enough for you, well…**

**I'm sorry if I may come off as an Ass here but I'm not trying to insult anyone, it's something I don't like to do.**

**If you have any suggestions about whether my writing has improved or not, please hit me up on my PM. I actively responding to my mails these days so don't fear the lack of a quick response.**

**The immortal signing out…**


	11. Uzushiogakure and the 3,5 year training

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

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**Note: Another thing I want to let you all know that the next chapter is also complete. I did so because my responsibilities and work pile have increased and I will have to disappear for a while, I have an academic life to consider.***

**Have pity on me and give me a record reviews for this story (22+) and read my endnotes to avoid confusion...**_**  
**_

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**Chapter 10: Uzushiogakure and the 3.5 year long Training**

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**(Uzu no Kuni, Uzushiogakure) **

A small fiery blotch could be made out from the high darkened night skies as it descended from the rainy skies, leaving behind it a long trail of sparks and fine particles of fire which were just as quickly smouldered by the falling rain. The starry-like figure grew bigger and bigger until the figures of Jinyancha and Naruto could be made out as Naruto rode on the formers' back while he was in his Phoenix transformation. Higure's fire engulfed figure left behind a long trail of fire behind, his wings carelessly scattering fire around with every long flap of his wings.

Naruto felt that strange of nostalgia creep up within him again as Jinyancha slowly descended toward the ground with great speeds, the cold wind from their trajectory blowing past their forms and ruffling his hair back as Jinyancha swooped to the ground.

With a beating of his enormous wings, Jinyancha slowly halted the speedy motion he was going at as he eased himself to the ground with calm beats of his feathery forelimbs. His movements scattered wind around the area as they slowly landed on the ground. Naruto jumped off of the summon's back in a high leap, landing near the large towering metallic gate with the Uzumaki clan spiral symbol. The left half of the gate laid on the ground while the sole standing half was leaning piteously, a hair's breadth from keeling over and all around the same could be said about the rest of the place as Naruto marvelled at the destruction that lay before him. Because of how dark it was Naruto couldn't quite glimpse the level of destruction that lay before him properly but he knew that it was terrifying from what little he could see with his Rinnegan.

Jinyancha shifted back to his true form before he looked at Naruto "I suppose I should be on my way now Naruto" he said to the young blond.

Naruto nodded his agreement, knowing that the summon had to be slightly worn from the travelling "Hai, thank you and I'll summon you again when I need you" Naruto said as he stared up at the bulky humanoid creature.

"Alright…." The humanlike summon said before he disappeared in a large puff of smoke.

Naruto glanced around him, using more Chakra than necessary as he searched for something. He 'aha'd' mentally when he saw a stray stick of wood lying on the ground. He knelt down and picked it up and tore the right sleeve of his black shirt all the way down. He wrapped the torn piece of clothing around the long slender piece of wood before he held his hands in a tiger handseal with the piece of wood entrapped within the handseal held hands. He grunted slightly at how much of an effort he had to put in this seeing as he had never practiced or trained in this skill before.

He felt his Chakra overheating within his coils before he let it loose from his mouth without much thought "Katon no Jutsu" what Naruto had not been expecting was to let loose an uncontrollable torrent of fire that nearly scorched the stick he held in his handseal holding hands and even his hands which he moved out of the way, only fortunately managing to ignite the required portion of the stick.

"Shit…that was not cool" Naruto mumbled softly as he waved the now burning lighter in his hand before he sauntered forward, being careful to avoid the stream that ran through the village. "Home sweet home Naruto, home sweet home" he said to himself wistfully as he moved further into the village, navigating through the destruction and many fallen houses and roofs as he did so in search of the tower Higure had told him to find.

* * *

Morning came far too quick for Naruto than he had imagined and strangely enough he had enjoyed a relatively dreamless night. Naruto stretched himself with a yawn, working off the tight knots in his body like an expert as he coiled himself like a snake.

Rubbing at his eyes, he left the room he was in, and climbed up the flight of stairs within the darkened hallways of the house he was in. after a few minutes of walking up the stairs silently he finally emerged from the house. With the unrestricted and bright shade of the morning sunlight, Naruto finally was able to see clearly the state of Uzushiogakure. Large and countless high-rising buildings were collapsed over and the village was separated by a seemingly wide river. Many of the buildings had sunken into the deep body of water and there were the remnants of several destroyed and rusty bridges which Naruto assumed the people must have used to cross over to the other side. Many of the building were modern in appearance and were unlike the relatively normal Japanese structured two storey houses which were common in all of Hi no Kuni.

The village was encompassed and surrounded by many steep hills and mountains which the wide stream disappeared into. Naruto was able to pick up the spiral symbols on many of the desecrated houses, particularly the tower he had emerged from himself. He took in its appearance carefully, still quite surprised at how well kept it looked despite its leaning structure. Like most of the houses, it had the spiral symbol of the clan but unlike many, it was the tallest structure amongst the ruins and it held on top of it with a wide red sign the symbol of the village. It had a slightly pentagon structured design, and it more resembled a castle than a tower and it had small outcrops of buildings connecting to it. There was a long staircase which led into the underground, within the tower which Naruto had used. Inside of it, there were countless rooms and hidden underground vaults, one of which Naruto had stumbled upon the previous night. He had gone underground through the staircase, and that's where he had slept. The room wasn't a bedroom but it did have a bed, and was filled with thousands of scrolls.

'_I guess this place must have been beautiful before this' _he thought with a far-off look in his eyes _'I wonder what it would've been like to live here'_

Naruto turned around before he headed back into the tall mansion he had come from within. It was now time to begin his training, and he was going to do it, Uzumaki style. That meant he was going to be reckless and crude as he liked. He wasn't going to hold back on this…but first he needed clothes. He held his hands in the cross handseal and two Kage Bunshins popped to life beside him.

Naruto pointed to clone one "Go to the nearest village and gather some clothes and food."

He turned to the second Bunshin, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes before he spoke "You are going to get empty or blank scrolls and weapons, but don't get much unless there might be some still remaining somewhere around here"

"Hai!" the two doppelgangers nodded before they took off.

'_I guess I should get started'_ Naruto thought as he disappeared into the hidden vault to prepare for his training.

* * *

**(Two weeks later) **

Naruto was down on the ground, sweating heavily and grunting as he pushed himself up from the ground and groaning at the heavy weight on his back. Naruto was doing push ups or press ups with two Kage Bunshin sitting on his back, one of them counting the number he had accumulated thus far.

"567, 568, 569, 570…." Naruto's clone counted while he grunted at the effort that came with every push up and every exerting effort he had to put in to push himself down.

This had been the story thus far after he had arrived in Uzu; he had been doing physical training and practising Taijutsu, Kenjutsu and elemental natures for two weeks now. So far today he had been going at it for three hours now, having just finished doing a round of sit-ups which were preceded by an intense bout of squats. To make it worse he was still wearing some of the weights Higure had given him, which he had increased to 250 lbs but he wasn't complaining yet.

He had segmented his training regimen into three separate parts. Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, completing his elemental training and physical training for the first 11 months, Ninjutsu for the next 15 months and more since you can never stop learning in that aspect due to the versatility of the skill and then finally Fuinjutsu and Rinnegan training for 13 months. The remaining 6 months would be used to refine on and hone his skills before he finally left.

He surmised that it would get lonely being the only person around the desolate place but it was a necessary sacrifice in order to get stronger and also he supposed he could make small talk with Jinyancha and his kin, a though which brought a groan out of him as he did another push up.

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Somewhere in the summoning realm Jinyancha and the rest of his kin who were gathered in a circle playing cards sneezed, hard **"Oh boy…" **the Jinn clan's boss voiced his thoughts dryly as he rubbed at his nose in thought.

"**Shomeone (someone) musht (must) be thinkin' of ush (us)."** An elderly Jinni with long greyed hair, defined cheekbones, a few lost teeth, closed eyes and a heavily wrinkled face said with a sly smile on his face. **"Hehe, it must be a beautiful babe, I recon I recon"** he said as he nodded his head childishly with a rosy blush on his face.

"**Urgh, shut your pervetted trap you senile old fool. No one would ever think about a pervert like you."** another one which bore a somewhat feminine posture and appearance with purple hair and a lithe frame said while staring at the aged Jinn with a glare.

Unfortunately it seemed the elderly Jinn hadn't heard her as he continued chanting a mantra, his nose carelessly dripping with blood while a perverted blush covered his cheeks, **"Hehehehe, I can jusht (just) imagine the schene (scene)…perfect jigglesh (jiggles), skinny frame glishening (glistening) wit' oil. Bare as the day she was born. Ohohohoho Baby keep the lovin' thoughts(h) comin' "** the poor old Jinn was obviously lost in an erotic fantasy about the 'beautiful girl' thinking about them, his hand making gropping imaginary motions.

If only he knew just who was thinking about them…

"**Jinyancha, please talk to your father. I'm afraid he has grown too senile"**

"**Get Mosuurei to do it, he's the one who's high on that moral stuff,"** the boss summon dismissed with a lazy wave as he stared at his cards, **"Besides, I rather prefer this senile wittiness."** he turned to the female Jinn with a cheeky smile on his face.

* * *

Naruto continued his training, doing his push ups with ruthless gusto while occupying himself in his thoughts to keep himself from counting along with his Kage Bunshin. He wondered what he was going to do once he completed his training here. Would he leave and just aimlessly wander around? He had no purpose right now, and he was merely training in order to be strong enough to protect himself. He decided not to dwell too much on that depressing thought, figuring he would think about something in time.

His awareness let him know to the fact that his clone was still counting as he continued his exercise "996, 997, 998…" Naruto pushed himself down before with great effort he pushed his body upward again "1000". Naruto felt the weight on his back disappear as his Kage Bunshin got off of his back and gave him a cheeky thumbs-up. The blond slumped to the hard ground, panting harshly and sweating rivulets with his body glistening with sweat. The beads of sweat which dropped from his face formed a small wet patch on the ground below him. So far he had done a 1000 push ups, sit ups, and more and it had taken a lot out of him.

One of the Bunshin said with a grin on its face "Wow that really took a lot out of you, boss"

Naruto groaned at the statement, suppressing the urge to glare at the doppelganger "What did you expect genius? You were riding on my back the whole time"

The clone just shrugged, "Yeah well, you're the one who wants to do things by himself, so don't complain _big boss_" it said nonchalantly, stressing the words 'big boss' with a mocking tone.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he glared at the Kage Bunshin before a surprised expression came upon its face as it was abruptly dispelled in a puff of smoke, surprising its fellow Bunshin which looked at the real Naruto with a comically terrified look.

Naruto stared at the other Kage Bunshin with a well-practised insane glare, "Got anything more to say, smart mouth?" the remaining clone just shook its head furiously. "I thought so…" Naruto said simply before getting up and walking past it.

Once he had done so the Bunshin sighed in relief, wiping imaginary sweat off its forehead "Man, that guy can be scary...note to self, never make wisecrack jokes about Oyabun" the Kage Bunshin muttered to itself.

* * *

**(Five months later)**

Naruto clashed swords with a clone, the meeting of the two weapons of steel creating a melodious clang sound and sending small sparks into the air. Naruto channelled wind Chakra into his sword, lengthening its reach and cutting power before he dove at his Kage Bunshin. Ripples of air flew in the air as Naruto and his Kage Bunshin attacked each other in relentless and reckless fashion. The melodious sounds of colliding steel rung through the clearing as the two went at it, infusing hand to hand combat into the fight as it progressed.

It was something Naruto had been working, being able to switch between Taijutsu and Kenjutsu rapidly when the situation called for it and also being able to use handseals in battle without the need to stow away his weapons. That issue as he found out, he could remedy with Shuradou's technique which could possibly enable him to become a master dual or even a multi-sword wielding swordsman if he wished it because of the many limbs he could manifest using it. The ability offered great versatility and also it was beneficial in hand to hand combat because of the way it could be used to harden his skin, and the incredible raw strength it gave him.

Although he had no particular hand to hand fighting style, as formerly told by Higure, he had decided to take on the teachings of the man in order to create an unpredictable style and this was what he had come up with thus far and he was genuinely proud of it.

Naruto ducked underneath a slash which would have decapitated him, before responding with a leg-sweep at his opponent's legs which they jumped over. Naruto smirked at this before he stabbed his sword forward but before it could plunge his opponent a hand emerged from their chest and stopped it with a firm grip. Naruto's eyes widened at the sight of the mechanised limb before he growled threateningly "You…CHEATER"

Naruto relentlessly began attacking the Kage Bunshin which gulped nervously as it began avoiding the dangerous slashes from the original. Naruto managed to corner the Bunshin, its back against the bark of a tree while it stared up at him nervously. Naruto sent another horizontal slash toward his opponent who ducked underneath it. Naruto cut the tree cleanly in half in the process while the clone bounded away with a shrill scream "Come back here you cheating coward"

"No, I DON'T WANNA DIIEEEEEE!" the doppelganger screamed as it disappeared into the distance, a cloud of dust trailing behind it.

Naruto blinked before he shook his head at the stupidity of the Bunshin, "Stupid clones. I swear they're getting smarter for their own good these days" the blonde's outfit now consisted of tan Shinobi pants, a red vest which he left untucked. His hands and legs were wrapped in white arm wrappings and he had a sword scabbard on his back held behind by a brown belt which crossed over his chest. He had grown slightly taller and his hair was now longer.

Naruto mentally dispelled the delinquent Kage Bunshin before he received the memories, telling him it had been hiding under a pile of dirt. Naruto shook his head with a sigh at his clone's shenanigans before he brought his hand into a cross seal yet again and a clone appeared before him "Don't hold back and no funny stuff okay"

The Bunshin just grinned madly as it shuffled behind its back, removing a sword of its own "Hai" without warning it flew at Naruto, cackling like a madman as it brought its sword down on him.

Naruto groaned, resisting the urge to palm his forehead for fear of being cut down in half, "I guess we have sadistic ones as well. Just great, absolutely great" Naruto groaned as he blocked the deadly attacks from the sadist clone which was smiling at him in a rather disturbing manner. He had seen the smart mouths, the coward and now there was a sadist, Kage Bunshin simply couldn't get better it seemed.

**(A few hours later) **

After defeating the Kage Bunshin and having something to eat Naruto had now moved near a lake. On his body hung several and countless leafs which he had stuck to him using his Chakra. He picked one off before he sat down on the ground in a Seiza position, holding the small green leaf in both hands in front of him and closing his eyes. He focused his Chakra and relaxed himself, taking a deep breath as he focused on channelling his Chakra into the leaf and turning the leaf alit with his Chakra.

He focused on his Chakra first, imagining it as a hot and blazing inferno and not long Naruto could feel his Chakra heating up, he then sent it toward the small green leaf he held in his hand. A moment afterward, a slight fizzing sound could be made out as smoke came from the leaf and Naruto's face beamed somewhat at the improvement. He discarded the leaf and picked off another one from himself and continued, producing the same results. After a couple of tries which ended in the same fashion, frustration slowly crept up Naruto's spine.

Naruto threw away another partly burned leaf away before he groaned as he fell on the ground on his back "This is impossible…how am I supposed to do this?" Naruto pricked off another leaf off of himself, looking at it with a contemplative look in his eyes. "What would Ojii-san do?"

A thought struck Naruto as he suddenly remembered something he had read from the scrolls Higure had given him back in Namishu when they began his training. Naruto jumped into a meditative pose before holding the leaf before him and concentrating on his Chakra _'What is the first thing that you know about fire?'_ The idea was not to imagine your Chakra as a blazing inferno; that was extreme and wouldn't work as he had now figured out. Naruto began kneading his Chakra, picturing it as a warm, small camp fire that just engulfed you with its warmth. Soon he felt his Chakra start to heat up calmly and he began guiding it to his hands sedately. He next imagined the leaf in his hand as a stray leaf that had fallen on that small campfire, burning up at the edges and toward the centre, not beginning at the centre.

Naruto's eyes were closed in concentration as he felt his hands being engulfed in warm feeling before it got slightly warmer, followed by a rapidly fizzing sound before Naruto felt the leaf in his hands disintegrate into fine dust. A proud smile came upon his face as he opened his eyes to see the grey ash that remained from where the leaf had been.

"I...did it."

* * *

**(Eleven Months later)**

Naruto was sat down on the surface of the stream passing through Uzushiogakure. There was a calm aura about him on his now slightly matured face. His hair which seemed to have not seen a haircut now reached his shoulders. Long yellow bangs fell over his rippled eyes and his whisker marks were visible as the day he was born. Having undergone a growth spurt, he was now wearing a black short sleeved shirt with the Uzumaki spiral symbol on both sleeves; black ANBU pants and black ninja sandals. His sword scabbard was on his back, slung over his shoulders using its brown belt.

He had begun his Ninjutsu training almost six months ago and having already completed his elemental nature training exercises during the physical aspect of his training. He had been learning Ninjutsu from the many scrolls he found lying around a hidden library in one of the many hidden underground vaults within the central tower in Uzushiogakure. Another thing he had discovered down there were gold coins and they were what the blond used to buy food and other resources while his training progressed. He had learned quickly that those without Uzumaki blood couldn't enter and if they tried, they would be in for a nasty surprise.

Weaving through handseals at impressive speeds, Naruto stopped on the snake seal "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" the water around Naruto rumbled before it surged up violently, casting a long shadow over Naruto as it rose several metres high and forming a sort of large waterfall over him. With sudden movements, the waterfall lurched forward, flying over Naruto as it did so and splashing some drops of water on him as it pounded back into the river with a loud impact, causing the stream to swell and small waves of water to crash to the shore from the sudden force inflicted on it.

Naruto didn't even open his eyes as he merely just ran through more handseals "Kirigakure no Jutsu!" a white veil of thick mist rose all around Naruto, blanketing the area in a thick covering of white and obscuring the whole area around Naruto from the amount of Chakra he was channelling into the Jutsu.

Naruto's form was swallowed by the thickness, hiding him from view but soon his calm voice came from within the mist "Futon: Atsugai!" the thick mist was blown away with a suddenness as a violent tornado blew around Naruto, forcing the mist from the Kirigakure no Jutsu out of the area and revealing Naruto still sitting in the same position as he had been earlier, his hands now in a different handseal, the ram handseal. Naruto's hands unclasped as he weaved through more handseals, "Futon: Daitoppa!" Naruto's chest bulged out as he drew in a thin line of breath before he let loose a blast of violent wind, he ran through more handseals as the wind "Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu" Naruto released a high pressured continuous stream of fire, which doubled in size when it fused with the wind squall from earlier, causing a roaring sound to become audible as the now wilder inferno roared into the distance.

Naruto brought his hand into a cross handseal and two Kage Bunshin popped into view; they nodded to him before they each went through varying handseals. This was one of the main focal points of his Ninjutsu training. It was a skill that he knew could prove beneficial for him due to the limit of Kage Bunshin he could reach. One of the blond completed its handseals first holding its hand on the snake handseal and its hands flashing and crackling with lightning while its fellow continued stringing a long chain of handseals before it stopped on the bird seal. Water swelled from behind one of the clones, forming a large dragon of water before the other Kage Bunshin began channelling Raiton Chakra into it, turning it into a blue giant mass of water gleaming with bright flashes and long trails of lightning. Its eyes were yellow and the rest of its body had lines of dangerous lightning running long it.

"Konbijutsu: Shaberu Hakkyou!" the two clones said simultaneously at the sight of the now complete lightning-water dragon, as it roared with the pounding noise of water and the vibrating noisy hum of lightning.

Unfortunately, the technique suddenly shook with instability, the dragon began squirming and flaring with spears of lightning before it collapsed back into the water with a wet splash that caused a slight wave of water to wash out to shore. The shadow clones puffed out of existence as they were subjected to the aftereffects of the failed technique, suffering from the numbing shocks of lightning.

Naruto sighed loudly as he finally stood up, water cascading down his body and his face in small drips "I guess I haven't been doing badly huh" he was a little disappointed he hadn't completed the technique which was why he had two clones attempt it for safety reasons. It was his own creation and he wanted to create a combination of Suiryuudan no Jutsu and pure Raiton chakra to turn it into a more destructive technique. It was slightly better now because when he had begun when it flopped back into the water it ended with him being electrified in the process and he never wanted to relive that process ever again.

He had learned a couple of elemental Ninjutsu ever since he had begun his Ninjutsu training almost three months ago, although he hadn't learned quite enough in his opinion. Throughout his first six months of his Ninjutsu training

He was lacking although in the Doton Jutsu department partly due to the fact that there were no scrolls containing techniques of that nature.

He had also learned some other high level Ninjutsu, had expanded his skills and techniques, and started working on creating a few ones himself for Raiton seeing as the scrolls which contained the techniques had been confiscated from the scroll vault. He assumed that his grandfather was the one who had done so considering it was one of his two elemental affinities. Regardless his Ninjutsu didn't only include elemental Ninjutsu but also a few non-elemental Ninjutsu and barrier Ninjutsu as well. With his expansion of his techniques had come the incorporation of Konbijutsu into his style.

Not very long and he would be done, he was almost itching to go back into the outside world despite the slight fear he felt about that thought.

He brought his hand into a cross handseal, and two more Kage Bunshin exploded into view beside him.

"Alright, this will be an all-out Ninjutsu duel, so _please,_ come at me with everything you've got." the blond said as he assumed a stern pose, leaving no room for argument as his clones nodded seriously.

* * *

**(Seven months later)**

Naruto had progressed far in his Doujutsu training, he had discovered a few more techniques and secrets about the Rinnegan than he had ever hoped to when he began his training. Now he was here training and refining some of them. Although there were still several abilities which eluded him to his ire, and some which still confused him, he hoped to have mastered his ocular techniques before he completed his training and departed.

"Shinra Tensei!" Naruto blew away a large tree into tiny splinters as it was flung toward him with great force by a clone which had manifested the mechanical limbs. The Kage Bunshin now had six arms taking into count the two which were protruding from its chest which were still held in front of it from the throw it had just completed.

"Banshou Ten'in!" Naruto's clone ripped yet another tree off the ground with his technique as it pulled it toward itself before launching it toward Naruto who waited for it before shattering it with a hard fist. This technique was another one that offered him a small measure of varying functions as he could use it to pull objects off the ground and fling them at his opponents, or even use its attractive force to pull his adversaries toward him and bombard them with brutal blows. The blond also used this technique to pull parts of the earth up, either to form small hills or mountains.

The clone seemed to pause mid-air, his hair whipping in the soft wind as multiple Chakra blades emerged from his chest in a manner similar to acupuncture needle piercings around the chest area before with a loud cry he let them all lose, flying toward the real Naruto who stared calmly at them.

Naruto dodged and swivelled out of the way of the hailstorm of Chakra blades, watching as they dug all the way into the earth with a loud thudding sound. A veil of dust rose from the impact, covering the area and hiding the two from each other's view. Naruto felt a disturbance in the air, before instinctually he moved his head out of the way of a mechanised fist which grazed the side of his face. He jumped away as he felt his clone press on its attack with another punch which aruto ducked underneath before twisting backwards in an acrobatic display to put some space between them.

As soon as his feet touched the ground Naruto felt them leave it just as quick, as his clone had its hands raised and a victorious smirk on its face as it mouthed "I win…Shinra Tensei!" Naruto was flung back so fast, his momentum and trajectory was a mere blur of speed. Naruto felt his lungs flaring up with heat from the weight exerted on him as he flew back, behind him standing a large hill which he was sure he was going to plunge right through if he didn't think of something rapidly. He tried to channel expel wind Chakra through his Tenketsu to slow his movement down but froze when he found himself incapable of doing so. His eyes and that of his Bunshin widened in horror, not quite relishing the impact the former was going to be subject to.

Naruto grit his teeth as time slowed down in his peripheral vision, every second feeling like an eternity while he flew to his possible death. Naruto's clone's eyes went wide in shock as its Chakra was forcefully dispelled with it dispersing in smoke consequently in the process. The real Naruto felt his insides churn and his Chakra spike dramatically while he closed his eyes as he felt something boil over within him, his form suddenly racked with an uncontrollable desire for something to happen, and it did. Naruto's form glowed brightly, being swallowed by a pure white light before with a loud yell, enormous golden chains tipped with sharp diamond steel ends burst from the blonde's form, wildly and carelessly plunging into the tall hill behind him like a hot knife through butter, coiling around large trees and even digging into the earth as they halted his momentum.

Naruto managed to open his eyes partly to the sight of gold before with a short groan he passed out. He hung there suspended like some sort of insect on the strange web of golden chains which were in size, very incredible as they towered over almost everything within the village, even the tallest towers.

* * *

**(Mindscape)**

One of Kyuubi's great bloodshot eyes shot open suddenly as it looked at the space within the mindscape as it slowly transformed. The tall metallic gate was slowly lined with strange golden apparitions before they morphed into great golden chains, which coiled themselves around the gate. Several of the industrial pipes which ran along the length of the floor and ceiling faded away, giving away to the large chains to occupy the length of the entire space as they slowly connected themselves to the tall structure of the metallic cage.

The Bijuu scowled in irritation at the sight, but slightly glad that Naruto had unconsciously prevented the _bane_ of his existence in his former Jinchhuriki from advancing further into the cage "**Foolish Ningen.**" it seemed it just couldn't get a break….

It paved the memories the sight of the chains evoked within it aside as it focused on what it had been previously mulling over during the boy's training. Truth be told it had been had been watching the events of the boy's training with great interest which was really just doing so with one eye open.

Although Kyuubi always made itself believe it didn't care about mere mortals or humans, it had a genuine interest in Naruto and often wondered if he was the one mentioned in the prophecy. The Bijuu acted cold and apathetic toward the blond simply because it knew of no other way to depict itself. Its bitter hatred, anger, and malevolent intent were all a culmination of the millennia it spent trying to escape capture and human manipulation prior to being constantly hunted down and finally its being used by Madara and subsequent sealing had caused the Bijuu to have a low, dehumanizing and negative opinion about human beings and harbour a great deal of hatred for them. Although Kyuubi knew earning Naruto's trust again after what had happened in Namishu would be difficult, the Bijuu still held hope, despite often trying to convince itself it shouldn't or that it doesn't care.

There was just something compelling about Naruto, something that told Kyuubi that it should watch over him and try to get along. Naruto had an endearing quality about him that just drew others to him and Kyuubi found itself struggling to fight it off despite the burning bitterness it harboured. So was it because Naruto had asked to be its friend, or that he planned to free it from the shackles of mankind one day? Something which Kyuubi felt it had screwed up by trying to take control of Naruto and make him rip off the seal back during the battle with Danzo.

The fact that Naruto was also able to manifest Kushina's chains at such a young age spoke volumes of his rapid progress.

For now it marvelled at how far Naruto had come, his mastery over the Rinnegan in such a short space of time and without anyone to teach him was something which greatly impressed the Bijuu, and the Kyuubi was certainly not a being easily impressed by anything most would do, even its own kin.

However although Naruto's proficiency at using the Rinnegan had improved greatly he was still lacking in a few aspects. Like many humans he put too much focus on the physical aspect of his training and barely paid the spiritual little, if any thought at all and Kyuubi knew that to be able to win against Him Naruto would need to master that aspect as well so not to fall to Genjutsu and other Jutsu which used spiritual Chakra as their basic fuel.

There was also the case of Naruto's sixth Chakra type, one which he was unaware of but which he basically abused daily without any thought in the form of his Chakra transmitters.

In'youton and Youton Chakra…

* * *

**(A few days later) **

Naruto activated his Asura path, his arm taking on a more mechanised quality as he shot it off toward one of the many hills around him. It was wiped out of existence by the explosive device as it made contact, Naruto's hand slowly mended itself back to its' original form as he marvelled at his handy work. This was one of the things he truly liked about the Asura path, versatility. Satisfied with his handy work, he decided to move on to a subject that had been nagging him lately, which was not the ability to manifest golden chains but something else.

He composed himself before black chains erupted out of him, whipping about the air uncontrollably and threateningly

Naruto let another Chakra transmitter whizz into existence in his palm. He looked at it intently, noting how it seemed to hum softly and react to him as if they were connected. It was warm surprisingly and the blond could see Chakra flowing through it, the feeling he got from the Chakra was similar to his own. He remembered back during the battle with ROOT he had stabbed some of them into many of the ANBU and they had frozen, he felt himself manifest in them and commanding them when he used this blade. His chakra was disseminated when he used them somehow.

So did that mean these transmitters could allow him to transfer his Chakra into others and control them with them? Was there another use to these black Chakra rods that he wasn't yet aware of? And how was he even able to make them, because he could feel normal chakra wasn't involved in the making of these transmitters. Just the way the Rod seemed to hum almost as if it contained a life force of its own was enough to tell him they were made of a different type of Chakra he wasn't aware of, Chakra that was alive basically or had life-giving mechanisms.

A thought struck Naruto's mind, if he could do this, maybe he could make ones which were longer or bigger but the thing was he didn't know how. They just came out when he needed them or when he summoned one.

"**It is Yin-Yang Chakra you impotent fool**."

"Hmmm? Kyuubi?" Naruto blinked at the voice.

Naruto could practically feel the annoyed huff the Bijuu let out** "Wipe that stupid look off your face. Those** _**'things'**_** that you call transmitters are a creation** **of the usage of Onmyouton, In'youton (Yin-Yang release) Chakra."**

"Yin-Yang Chakra huh, you mean those two opposite Chakra types where one can create an object and the other can give it life?" he asked with a raised eyebrow as he searched his mind for the knowledge he had of the skill.

"**Yes, that is precisely it. You have that Chakra in you but you have been far too foolish** **to even realise it"** Naruto just dismissed the insult, focusing on hearing what the Bijuu had to say **"It is In'youton and Youton Chakra that formed the base of the Rikudou Sennin's greatest** **Jutsu, 'Banbutsu Souzo'. With it he could create life from almost nothing and it was through the employment of In'youton and Youton Chakra that** **the Bijuu were created and given physical forms."** the Bijuu said within the mindscape while Naruto nodded his head on the outside.

"So Yin release is about theimagination and spiritual energy and Yang is about vitality, life and it is based off physical energy?" Naruto asked as a contemplative look entered his eyes.

"**Yes, however **_**you**_** lack the ability to use this technique up to its fullest potential because you have put too much emphasis on Youton (Yang release) and not Inton (Yin Release), and for Inton to take effect, you must have a clear picture of what it is you wish to form, essentially an imagination and a good grasp of spiritual energy." **

"I see, so if I train enough I might be able to use this Jutsu?" Naruto hummed with a thoughtful and eagerly excited look on his face.

"**Never! You never will be able to emulate him. No other Ningen can,** **he was a God amongst you pitiful** **short-lived** **humans."** Naruto's eyebrow rose at that **"What you have there is only a childish slimmer of what he was capable of."**

"Someone is a fangirl is see" Naruto's retort drew an angry growl out of the Bijuu as it bared its teeth at him. Naruto's eyes hardened slightly as he sent a mental glare at Kyuubi "Regardless of that, I don't care what you say. I will grow stronger, stronger that even this _God_ of yours…"

"….even if it means I'll have to create a second moon to prove it." with that last retort Naruto cut off the connection between him and the Bijuu, leaving Kyuubi alone to mull over his thoughts. Naruto had yet again surprised it.

Slowly, an ear splitting grin came upon its face as it sunk back into the darkness of the cage housing it. **'We shall see Ningen…' **

* * *

**(Seven months later) **

Naruto had a thoughtful expression on his face while he sat on the ground in the Seiza position, a flock of scrolls surrounding him while he held a brush in his finger, skilfully twirling it around.

He had begun working on Fuinjutsu a couple of months ago and now he was adept enough at it. He was far from a master but with time he would be. He was now capable of creating weighting seals on his own, suppression seals with ease and was now working on creating his own seal, one which would allow him to nullify the effects of his one weak point, Genjutsu.

It was something which he had struggled with. He had tried to learn Genjutsu since he had very excellent Chakra control but no matter what he did, he just couldn't get it right. He figured that it could be because of the fact that he lacked imagination and usually used more Yang Chakra for his techniques than Yin which focused most of the time on techniques without a material form, illusionary techniques. He had went and read up on Yin and Yang Chakra and had practiced hard, but deciding that it was for the purpose of his Rinnegan techniques and relegating Genjutsu to only learning how to dispel it and recognise it.

He had come up with a seal that would enable him to do such, but of course the formula was not correct and he had failed countless times to get it correct. This seal would allow him to not only see through Genjutsu but also see through high level Genjutsu, like those of the Sharingan or ones skilled masters could manage, such as the Nidaime Mizukage or Konoha's very own Genjutsu mistress Yuuhi Kurenai.

With masterful stroking of his brush, Naruto swiftly drew several Kanji on the scroll that lay before him, going all the way down to the edges of the paper as he poured all his focus into his work. A look of intent and focus in his rippled gaze, after scribbling down the last Kanji with perfect elegancy, he gently laid his brush and bottle of Ink on the ground. He planted his hands on the scroll, channelling Chakra into it before he watched as the seals glowed with a fiery red colour before they crawled up his skin and into his body, covering his body in markings before they all disappeared from the layer of paper and onto his skin.

Naruto felt as the seals all disappeared into his body before he sighed with relief. The last time he had attempted to do this, he had nearly burned his insides after having made a mistake with one of the Kanji and writing it in the wrong manner. He had discovered that the writing was just as significant to the whole Jutsu as was Chakra and he had worked hard on Calligraphy and perfected his handwriting to make it flawless because with Fuinjutsu, just getting one Kanji wrong could result in you missing a limb, or your whole body being turned upside down.

He had now finally managed to create his first Fuinjutsu and the only way to know if he had succeeded was to confront a Genjutsu master…if he even knew where to find one.

* * *

**(9 months later)**

'_Although I may always and forever carry the stigma of Jinchuuriki, I have liberated myself and I'm not Konoha's Jinchuuriki but my own person. I have defied the powers which hoped to chain my existence to an unwanted fate and although it is quite scary, it a surreal experience, one which I wish to get more of. _

_Those who I love have left me, the wounds of their death and the pain still clings to my heart and soul. I may never be able to move on but with time, perhaps it might be possible. Right now my first priority is figuring out what I wish to do in life. I am no longer bound to the village, bound to the village that shackled me and had already decided my fate for me. I am free but freedom comes with a cost and my family was one of them. Hotaru and Higure were my beloved and I had lived solely for them but with them gone I have nothing, not even a dog. _

_All I have are the memories, still fresh as the morning smell of daisies. Nearly four years have passed since then, and I'm ready to take on the world.' _

* * *

A lone presence stood amongst a clearing filled with countless collapsed buildings, his now slightly longer blond hair was even spikier than ever before and it hung over his eyes in large yellow bangs which obstructed the view of his rippled purple eyes. It was blowing in the calm breeze, ruffling past his face and covering one of his eyes while a serene expression was settled on his face as he inhaled the cool breeze.

He was clad in Dark black ANBU pants, a long sleeved black shirt with the sleeves baggy at the opening and held in place and close to his skin by white arm wrappings. His shirt was somewhat parted, exposing his chest and over it he had a long black overcoat which went all the way to his knees, with a large red spiral symbol on his back. He had on black ninja boots that exposed his toes only and covered the rest of his feet, and covering the lower half of his face was a long red scarf that formed a medium heighted collar on his neck.

Naruto surveyed the ruins that lay around him as he mused on his thoughts. His training here was complete and he now needed to venture out there, back into the jaws of the outside world. Filled with predators and all kinds of monsters who benefited from the suffering of others. People like Danzo…

However this time he was ready.

"Kuchiyose no Ju-"

**BOOM!**

Naruto sighed as the wind from the resultant impact of summoning Jinyancha ruffled his hair back. _'Again huh?'_ An irritated sigh escaped his lips while his eyebrow twitched as he braced himself for the onslaught that was to come from the cloud of smoke.

"**What is it now Kid?**" Naruto was slightly surprised by the dull greeting but bounced back as an annoyed expression appeared on his face.

"Will you ever stop doing that?" Naruto grumbled with a glare.

"**Doing what exactly?**" Jinyancha asked all too innocently as he feigned a confused expression on his face. Naruto didn't believe for one second that the summon didn't know what he was talking about and knew he only did it on purpose.

He resisted the urge to palm himself on the head before he merely gave another sigh as he responded "You know what I mean; I'm starting to get the feeling that you like interrupting me on purpose"

Jinyancha's eyebrow rose delicately in an exaggerated innocent manner "**Eh, think what you want kid. Honestly I think it is better that way, come on it's a classy entrance"**

Naruto shook his head lazily with a bored look on his face "Well it's not really creative, it's grown old. Get a bit more creative old geezer" he waved his hand lazily at the black-haired summon, hoping to rile him up.

Jinyancha's visage twisted into a look of abject horror "**What? Are you saying that my work of art has grown out of custom?**"

Naruto just huffed out a tired sigh as he gazed at Jinyancha "What am I going to do with you? I wish I could get a cooler personal summon. Maybe Mosuurei for once, he seems like he's much better to deal with"

"**But where would the fun be in that? You see kid, you and I are going to be doing some crazy things in the future and so you should get used to dealing with me.**" The giant turned into a cute little snowy-white kitten and perched himself on the blonde's shoulder "**You know what I think? I think you enjoy this just as much as I do**" Naruto could practically feel the smirk rolling off the transformed summon's cute face.

Naruto merely gave the transformed Jinn a dry look before he grunted "Enough of that now. I called you here for a reason"

The feline Jinyancha smirked, if one could call it one from the barring of his intrinsically sharp fangs was any indication "**Now we're talking. So what will it be?**" he asked as his tail wrapped around Naruto's neck.

"Nami no Kuni"

"**Ah,**** you mean that small country just a few minutes travel from here?**"

"Precisely, a few clones of mine have travelled there for stock during this past year I have been here and to put it bluntly the country is messed up." Naruto said.

An air of seriousness appeared in Jinyancha's face as he looked at Naruto inquisitively "**How so you say?**" he asked.

Naruto eyebrows furrowed deeply as he gave a forehead-creasing frown "There is a tyrant by the name of Gatou who has seized control of Nami for his disgusting corporate and enterprise business and he has drained it of everything. The people there have lost hope and it is now merely a broken shell of its former self. However there is still a small lingering hope in a bridge one of the citizens has sanctioned to have built but the problem is…" he said trailing off at the end.

"**This Gatou fellow feels threatened by the existence of the bridge.**" Jinyancha put two and two together as he surmised what Naruto was going to say. He was surprised by how the boy had grown, not just in terms of fighting but also with his knowledge and in mind. He could feel the calm aura exuding off of him, with his slumbering sea of Chakra just calmly flowing through him like a calm endless stream

"Yeah, what I want to know is whether or not I could…" he asked, trailing off at the end as a slight look of apprehensiveness and doubt appeared in his eyes.

Jinyancha seemed to understand exactly what it was Naruto was going to ask as he nodded his head "**I understand however the decision lies in your hands. You finally have the freedom to think for yourself as you desired by breaking your ties with Konoha all those years ago, so what you wish to do should be all entirely up to you**" he said from atop the blonde's shoulder, with the wind blowing in soft breezes around them.

Naruto didn't seem satisfied with the answer though if the creasing of his brows and the narrowing of his eyes was any indication "Yeah but what do you think. I mean it is wrong what has happened to them and I don't want to just sit here and do nothing if I can do something"

Jinyancha gave a sigh as patted Naruto's shoulder with his tail "**Then you already know your answer Naruto, as it is said, with great power comes great responsibilities and ensuring that others are helped is one of them. However it is important not to abuse the power you have. Also some people do not like to be helped and you will learn that very soon. Me? I think you should go ahead with it…**"

Naruto smiled appreciatively at that "Thanks Jinyancha, why can't you always be like this huh?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. It was indeed something that surprised him about Jinyancha where he would just randomly switch between wisdom and mischief and Naruto wondered if he could consistently keep acting one part without the need for another, but he supposed he wouldn't be who he was without his _perks _which he finally understood after Higure warned him of them.

Jinyancha shrugged with a grin on his face "**Hohoho. That would be too dull. I don't look my age and I certainly won't act it either, well unless the situation calls for it**" the bulky summon added as an afterthought before it jumped off of Naruto's back before morphing back into his normal appearance and stretching his back "Alright so what will it be this time?"

A thoughtful expression appeared on Naruto's face as he mulled over on their method travelling "What do you say this time we go by…water?" Naruto said after a moment of contemplation.

Jinyancha nodded his head "**Sounds good to me kid, so what would it be?**" the black-haired Jinn asked.

Naruto scratched his neck before he spoke "Something original and rare maybe?" Jinyancha's eyebrow rose at that and Naruto grinned viciously "A sea dragon?"

'_**And he just had to say 'dragon' didn't he? Stupid kid**'_ Jinyancha's eyebrow twitched while he hid the irritated mark on his forehead with a frown "**Well unless you are comfortable with scaring the skin out of the people at shore then let's do it**"

"Geez you just had to put me down didn't you. Is it because I said dragon? What's your deal with them anyway?" Naruto said as he grinned.

"**There's no deal kid,**" Jinyancha said with eyes closed as he folded his hands across his chest in an irritated posture "**I just don't like them**"

Naruto smiled teasingly "I didn't know you were the jealous type." He paused as he put a finger to his lip "Is it because people like dragons more than Jinn?"

"**Urk**" Jinyancha just let out an annoyed sound, it seemed that Naruto was now able to turn the tables on him effortlessly these days.

* * *

**(Konohagakure, Hokage Tower roof)**

Sarutobi stood on the roof of the tall Hokage tower. His hands were folded behind his back while his aged gaze was focused on the faces of the four previous Hokage. The calm wind blew his white Hokage garb complete with the headpiece while his face was the epitome of calmness and showed no signs of worry. His pipe was discarded somewhere and he just soaked up the warmth of the sun with a content-filled expression on his face. He had finished his paperwork early, a very rare event which had surprised his secretary greatly. Sarutobi swore that the woman somehow took pleasure out of seeing him squirming under mountains upon mountains of paperwork stacks and had taken great joy out of seeing the shocked look on her face as he walked out of the office, his desk empty and free of its eternal burden.

"I see you've come" he spoke calmly as a new presence appeared behind him.

"Yeah, I heard that you didn't find him" the white-haired man spoke as he sighed, leaning on of the poles of the tower as he did so.

"Sadly but correct I'm afraid, however…" Sarutobi said as he turned around to face Jiraiya "That is not the reason I have called you back" he said with an air of seriousness about him, alerting Jiraiya that what he was about to say was very important.

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed at the grim expression on Sarutobi's face "Well…what is it?" he asked as he stared forward at the man, his face holding a blank look.

"As you know that ever since the news of Danzo's defection and subsequent treason were revealed, the village has been in an uproar of sorts" Sarutobi began.

Jiraiya nodded with look of repressed impatience "I know that clearly enough, get to the point Sarutobi-sensei"

"Patience Jiraiya" the man chided with a thin smile on his face "Because of Naruto's fleeing and all the other shenanigans that have been happening, there are certain factions within the village who wish for me to step down as Hokage" the man said with his face drawn in a serious look.

"What…?" Jiraiya recoiled with surprise on his face.

"The Shinobi council feels that a new leader should be elected to take over the helm and they have given me the task of finding them and mentoring that person." The man said as he shifted his gaze from that of his former student to stare over the village he loved "Honestly I agree with them, Konoha does need a new Hokage" he said as he rubbed smiled at seeing some children laughing and playing on the streets. The sight was heart-warming at best but at worst it reminded him of Naruto, something that brought a look of wistfulness in his aged eyes.

"I see, but what are you getting at now?" Jiraiya said with narrowed eyes as if something was ringing alarm bells in his head.

Sarutobi recast his gaze back on Jiraiya "What I am getting at is that you Jiraiya are my chosen successor" he said with absolute seriousness in his voice.

The white-haired man burst out laughing hard, his booming laughter being carried by the wind that blew calmly all round Konoha. Jiraiya wiped a few tears from his eyes after he had calmed down "I'm glad to see that I can amuse you with something so serious" Sarutobi said dryly with a blank look on his face.

Jiraiya finally stopped his shaking as his laughter ceased "Seriously Sensei, both you and I know that I'm not fit to be a Hokage…what about Sakumo's kid, Minato's student, Kakashi?" he asked as he tried to swerve himself out of the daunting responsibility. It was not so much because of the responsibilities but just because, that office held way too many bad memories and scars of his failures.

Sarutobi frowned as his eyes closed "That is what you say when you run away from responsibilities Jiraiya…." He said as he let out a calm breath of air "And Kakashi is just as bad as you, besides he has a Genin squad and he is usually tied to them" he finished at the end as he rubbed at his beard.

"I'm not running away from anything" Jiraiya growled out, finding some offence from the statement.

"Are you certain?" Jiraiya's eyes fell "When will you ever stop walloping about your failures and try to accept the positives that you have"

The man gave a snort as a self-deprecating look appeared in his eyes "What positives? I've failed in every aspect, the negatives in my life, the failures dwarf the good things I've done" the white-haired man said with a voice full of self-scorn "You think I care about the title of Sannin? I'd much rather have been a normal ninja than be who I am right now" he finished as he stared into the open blue sky.

Sarutobi grunted with a disappointed sigh "I see, I'm disappointed in you Jiraiya. So would Minato and Kushina. When will you ever learn that you are a good person, that what separates you from most are the strange qualities that you possess. I thought I taught you that failures only make you stronger, isn't your ninja way to never give up?"

The man seemed to somehow consider that as his eyes dazed over "Alright, I'll consider it" Sarutobi gave the man a nod and a smile "But that will be until after I have searched for _her_" he said, emphasising the _her_ as he did so.

Sarutobi manifested a questioning look on his face "Are you sure that is wise?" he asked the white-haired Sannin.

"Yeah, I can't run a village and search for Naruto at the same time can I" he asked rhetorically.

Sarutobi just nodded his head in concurrence "I suppose you are correct. I will have to announce this to the rest of the council" the Sandaime said.

Jiraiya put a finger on his lip in thought "The Chuunin exams are just a few months away right?" the older man nodded and Jiraiya assumed a contemplative pose "Hmm, I guess you are going to give me that long to find both her and Naruto. It won't be easy since I've lost track of both of them and they haven't been on the radar for almost four years now"

"I hope so…because I can certainly feel my years now" he said as he craned and stretched his spine slightly.

Jiraiya smirked at the grey-haired man "Yeah just wait, I'll bring her here. Even if I have to drag her here kicking and screaming" he said with a mischievous smirk on his face.

Sarutobi gave a hearty chuckle at that "Make sure you do. That would be quite the spectacle" the two laughed softly at that.

"Yeah, if she doesn't kill me first" Jiraiya added as an afterthought while his face still held the remnants of the smirk from earlier.

* * *

**(Nami no Kuni)**

Nami no kuni was a relatively isolated yet beautiful country surrounded by the sea with lots of mangroves sprouting out of the water close to the shores. There was a great stream that passed between the village reminiscent of in Uzushiogakure and nature was blooming all around. The country was made up of simple wooden structure houses, with many being two storeys high.

On an incredibly long and wide bridge near the shore, an elderly man with greyed hair, a beard and wearing a sleeveless brown V-neck shirt, pants and glasses directed the buildings proceedings as a few construction workers carried working equipment and some were drilling bolts into the bridge and doing whatever task they had been assigned to. Tazuna sighed wearily as he looked at progress of the bridge they had been building, it had been coming slowly and steadily building but his workers were slowly declining day by day as Gatou threatened or even killed some of them to spread fear and halt the building of the bridge.

Many had already given up and give a couple more weeks soon he would be out of workers and the bridge would be abandoned. It was hard, and he wished there was something he could do. The village had been saving what little money they had for a B-rank mission but despite that, it still wasn't enough to cover it. Even with the help of the country's Daimyo and nobles. The country had been far too drained and asking for more would've certainly spread more starvation in the village.

His only choice at this moment was deception, something that Ninja specialised in and he was no Ninja and he was going to attempt to deceive Shinobi. He would request a B-rank protection mission under the guise of C-rank escort mission. If all went well, they could even be lucky and not run into the assassins or Ninja Gatou would surely send after him.

So in a day he was to leave for Konoha to request that mission.

He sighed as he looked up into the air. It was yet another dull day in Nami, nothing extraordinary or out of the ordinary but simple fog cover, and the bright sunlight. His thoughts were soon discarded as the water of the sea below the bridge rumbled a little. He and his co-workers began to fear for the worst, assuming Gatou had sent his men to finish them all off. However their fears were rested when whatever it was that had caught their attention let out a loud screech, but that only served to worry them even more. Wind whipped around them with a sudden violence as something burst from the water, flying over them, its scaly sea blue colour sparkling with water while its long tail trailed back behind it as it landed on the bridge.

All of the men on the bridge dropped their weapons and Tazuna felt his jaw drop as before them stood a blue sea monster. It had a dragon-like appearance with its tail consisting of aquatic creature-like qualities as it resembled a tail common amongst many marine inhabitants, but with rough and large scaly features at the end. Its form was lined with large blue scales, and there were gills underneath it chin, it had sky blue scaly wings which were dripping with water. Atop it was a boy, with long spiky blond hair which reached his shoulders and hung loosely over his back. He had a red cloth on his face which obscured some of his features from coming into view with only his rippled purple eyes being the only thing that was visible.

Tazuna and his platoon of workers found themselves incapable of forming a coherent speech as the creature just stood before them before it coiled its feathers slightly, making some of them stumble backwards. **"ROAARRRR!"** with suddenness it let out a bellowing and earth cringing roar which splashed harsh winds against the bride construction workers.

No one spoke for a second just staring at the strange wet duo. All of them tensed when the boy gave them a lazy wave before him and his companion took to the sky with beating flaps of its wings.

Tazuna took off his straw hat, using it as a small fan as he blew some cold air into his face to ensure he wasn't dreaming "Well, I've seen some strange things in my life…" the man said with the others looking at him "But that takes my bottle of sake…" they all nodded absently with their hanging jaws struggling to be brought back into shape.

* * *

"**Haha, you should've seen the look on their faces kid**" the transformed Jinyancha barked out in laughter while he flapped his scaly wings once every three seconds in the air "**It was absolutely priceless. You have a prankster side to you kid that much I've glimpsed, but you've got nothing on me**"

"It would've been better if we hadn't drawn attention to ourselves you know"

Jinyancha dismissed with a nonchalant voice "**Ah don't worry. People are stupid, they'll just think we're some kind of myth or something**"

"That's comforting…." Naruto said dryly as Jinyancha made another long flap of his wings. "And you just had to add the typical roar didn't you?" Naruto asked with an irriated groan.

"**Well of course. I swear one of them pissed in his pants**" Naruto this time couldn't stop himself from palming his forehead loudly "**Come one face it kid, you enjoyed that**" Jinyancha exclaimed as he gazed at the annoyed blond out of the corner of his red eyes.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched as he gathered that the Jinn boss was annoying him on purpose because of what he had said before the left Uzushiogakure "Someday I will learn how to fly, and I will never ride on you again" Naruto said with a glare.

Jinyancha's eyes got moist at that "**You're cold kid, you're absolutely cold**" Jinyancha said with a feigned look of dejection "**Well, happy landings then…**" Jinyancha said suddenly as he puffed out of existence while still in mid-air making Naruto's eyes widen before he groaned.

Naruto channelled Chakra to his feet as he descended toward the ground at breakneck speed. He activated his Asura path, hardening his legs as he neared the ground with the wind whipping at his form. People around the streets of Nami got a surprise as they saw something falling rapidly from the sky. It was small, almost bird-like in size from how far it was but it got proportionally bigger with each second as it neared the ground. Finally once it was within 30 feet from reaching the ground, the people could see it was a human being and many closed their eyes fearing for the worst and not wanting to hear nor see the harsh impact

Naruto crashed into the ground feet first with a loud impact, digging into the earth with his feet and sending loud rumblings through the streets and debris flying into the air. A large cloud of dust rose from where he had crashed into, and many people stared peeked their heads into the large hole he had created. A huge crater remained from where the blond had impacted. He groaned as he felt the sting in his legs, he wobbled as he jumped out of the crater he had created with staggering steps.

He looked around to see many people staring at him in disbelief and merely dusted himself off before he walked away, leaving the people standing there with their eyes wide and unblinking and their jaws hanging absurdly. None of them even had the forethought to ask whether he was alright.

'_That was rough…next time I'll make sure to pull that asshole by his beard' _

* * *

**Konbijutsu: Shaberu Hakkyou - Combination technique: Cackling madness**

**Kirirgakure no Jutsu: Hidden mist technique **

**Sution: Daibakufu no Jutsu - Water release: Great waterfall technique**

**Futon: Atsugai - Wind release: Pressure damage**

**Futon: Daitoppa - Wind release: Great breakthrough**

**Katon: Goukakyou no Jutsu - Fire release: Great fireball technique**

* * *

**Another one….things are finally beginning to move forward now.**

**Naruto; Age 9 (beginning of training)**

**Naruto; current age: 12 and a half (after training)**

**Note: I will alter the timeline somewhat to accommodate some of the changes I will be adding to the canon-line arcs, so watch out for those. **

**Not much to say, I kinda am bloated (had a lot of fries and coke). The next update will not be until after a while, not 'months a while' but just a few weeks a while. I have Practicals and those baby-sitting chores like that. **

**And please review, it takes only a minute and a couple of words where you say what you like or dislike about the story and then, voila you're done…  
**


	12. Birthing Hope and Startling Revelations

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

"**Every action or decision in life, no matter how small has a consequence. But then if so the best decision or action one can take is no action or decision at all, but what if that has consequences as well? Ones which are far greater and regrettable?" The disturbed immortal. **

* * *

**Please review, please…It only takes a minute of your time and I will gladly appreciate it... **

**I wasn't satisfied with the last chapter as some of you also weren't. The aim was to focus on the training aspect of Naruto's training, it doesn't mean it's over though because he is still going to train more. I added the humour aspect to the chapter to avoid creating a web of monotony in which it's just training, training, and more training. Hopefully this chapter will be slightly better and I hope I get more reviews please, those who couldn't review the previous chapter you will finally be able to review this one.**

**This is sort of a two in one chapter, I'm trying to rush things here and get the wave arc out-of-the-way so that I can move on to more original arcs and events. **

**Note: Haku is a 'she' in this fic (she's female)**

**Also, if there is anyone who is a fan of this story and good at art, I would appreciate it fic you could do an art of this story's Naruto. I'm not inept at it, in fact I'm actually good, it's just that I don't have my drawing and sketch pencils nor my colours.**

**Alright, enjoy… **

* * *

**Chapter 11: Birthing hope and Startling Revelations**

* * *

Naruto kept sending a hidden glance around the corners of the streets of Nami as he walked down the narrow dusty path lined with buildings on either side. The place was dull, bare and people were lifelessly milling around without a purpose and the street corners and hallways were lurking with children, some of whom couldn't be any older than six as they had their knees hugged close to their frames and were curling in on themselves and staring about with broken, hopeless eyes. Their thin frames and dirty clothes struck a painfully similar chord within Naruto as he walked, making his hand twitch with the ire of a feeling he couldn't quite fathom.

Naruto didn't want to say he felt pity for these people, but now here as they were, it seemed that these children were surviving solely on the pity of others. Many elders just went their way as well, ignoring all and everything around them as if it was a common occurrence. Everyone looked out for their own and here, in a country that was starving, it was the same. As he walked he could see many people, even the shop owners staring at him and whispering inaudibly. A couple of old frail men dressed in barely acceptable clothing looked/leered at him and Naruto stared right back at them to convey the hidden message 'Try something funny and I'll kick your asses'. The way the people were looking at him showed him clearly that they were not used to seeing new faces and also at the same time that they possibly had to know every citizen of Nami if they could recognise that he wasn't from around. He figured that with the way he had dressed himself that he would catch attention, seeing as many of the citizens here weren't dressed up in very fashionable clothing. It was very obvious that they would be able to separate themselves from him with how he was clothed or perhaps the manner in which he had…um announced himself earlier on with his _entrance._

Naruto was snapped out of his musings when he felt someone bump into him. Glancing behind him, he was met with the visage of a young boy with short dark brown hair, black eyes and clad in a dirty, dull green shirt, black shorts and sandals. He flashed him a cocky smile before he took off in a run. Naruto's eyes narrowed before experience from Konoha told him what the little boy had just done. Just to make sure he cast his eyes down to see that the small sack he used to carry his money was missing. With a sigh Naruto slowly followed after him walking sedately and making the running mischievous urchin smirk victoriously. The boy disappeared around a corner and barrelled down the next street, before he found himself before a rundown building where there were many children, who were lounging about with dry lips and holding their bellies in a clear sign of hunger.

"Hey guys, look what I found?" the boy held up a sack, letting it jingle with the money that was in there. All of their eyes widened at that before beaming smiles came upon their faces.

"Where did you get that Kenjurou?" one of the kids asked as he looked at the brown-haired boy.

The boy planted his hands on his hips, a smug look marring his mischievous looking expression, "From some stupid guy that was walking on the street as if he owned the place. He didn't even notice" he said in an obviously exaggerated boasting of his skills, his wide smirk threatening to split his face.

"Really now…?" the foreign voice knocked the boy out of his vaunting and he found himself staring at the stern countenance of Naruto.

His eyes widened as he slowly cowered back, pointing an accusing finger at Naruto "Y-you, b-but I th-thought…How did you f-find me so quickly?" he stammered in his speech as suddenly fear of being scolded or a fate far worse crept into his heart.

Naruto suppressed a frown at the fear and apprehension he could hear and feel emanating from the boy "That's for me to know." Naruto reached out with his palm, making a beckoning sign and with a grunt the boy handed him back his small money frog "Now tell me why did you try to steal this from me?"

The boy's head bowed down in shame and Naruto was surprised when he noticed the boy's fist balled, a frustrated expression on his face and his form starting to flinch momentarily before he began shaking either with fear or anger.

One of the kids, a girl barely seven years old with lengthy, messy brown hair and big blue eyes walked next to the boy, standing in front of him protectively as she looked at Naruto "Please mister, don't hurt him. It's our entire fault, he was doing it for us" she defended with a soft and innocent childish tone.

Naruto sighed as he shifted his stare to the young girl. "I wasn't going to. I just wanted to know why he did what he did." He brought his gaze back to the quivering boy.

"It's because we don't have any food and he is the one who brings us some but sometimes they…they" at that Naruto looked at the boy closely, taking in his appearance with a critical eye. The boy's body was lined with several scars, and some bruises along his face and his body which Naruto hadn't seen due to how messy the boy looked.

Naruto sent Chakra to his eyes as he looked at the boy and immediately flinched as he did so. He grit his teeth as his eyes narrowed before he settled himself with a calmed sigh "What is your name?" the boy was obviously abused regularly and it seemed that no matter how much they beat him up, he would still cause trouble by stealing food simply to feed his friends. To have the guts to do that constantly without the fear of death spoke volumes about the boy's will, he was strong in heart. It was people like him who Nami no Kuni needed but now it would be of no use if he went and got himself killed.

"K-kenjurou…" the boy mumbled lowly.

"Well Kenjurou you're a very brave kid but let me ask you, if you had power, what would you do with it?" It wasn't just a question for the youth bur rather it was also indirectly for Naruto. It was a question that has been troubling, occupying and exhausting his thoughts lately and to tell the truth he had no answer to it. It was a question that he had asked himself long before he came to Nami no Kuni, but after hearing Jinyancha's wisdom about great power entailing even greater responsibilities he had thought, at least at that moment that he had found his answer. It was not so and it still haunted him as much as his greatest nightmares and regrets.

"First I would kill Gatou…" the blond closed his eyes at that "Then I would set my country free. My parents, they were killed by Gatou and I don't want to see any more people suffer"

Naruto softened his face slightly more, he lowered himself slightly in order to get eye level with the boy, "Listen, killing is no child's play and it's not something I would urge you to do. It certainly isn't something your parents would like to see you do, you have to remain a kid while you can."

"How would you know?" the boy nearly shouted.

"Trust me, I just know…" Naruto said with a wistful smile on his face as he ruffled the boy's messy hair.

Naruto lifted his face to stare at all of the kids "Alright I hope you learn your lesson and never steal from people you don't know, for all you know I could've been a Shinobi or someone else dangerous" Naruto chided with a softened forbidding look about him, however his statement was aimed at Kenjurou in particular, making the boy winced at that prospect "But don't worry, I promise no one will be hurting you anymore. All of you" he said as he looked at them all with a reassuring gaze.

"Do you promise Nii-san?" the small girl asked, it seemed she hadn't took long to get accustomed to him.

"It's a promise of a lifetime" Naruto said with a smile behind his clothed face. After all, he always kept his promises, except that one time and it was one he would forever bemoan and regret for the rest of his life "Alright, I'll buy you all something to eat. But you're going to learn to do things for yourself, without stealing" they all nodded before they followed after the blond.

"Thanks Nii-san" they all said in unison, their appreciative words somehow reminding Naruto of himself when he was young and impressionable.

* * *

Naruto sighed through the fabric of his scarf as he watched the group devour their share of meals with ruthless gusto, their eyes gleaming with unshed tears at finally eating a well-cooked meal. The sight made his eyes squint sadly at the stark similarity of it all to his situation, back in Konoha, when the Sandaime would take him to Ramen at Ichiraku's. Like him these kids have had it rough, and it looked as if they had gone a few days without food or anything good to eat if their ruthless devouring of their meals was anything to go by.

He didn't know what to do. His heart burned with the desire to kill Gatou, but would that solve anything?

And was it even his business? Who knew if his butting in wouldn't cause even more problems for these people? These were many of the questions he found haunting him day in and day out, which he had no choice but to mull over. He knew very well that everything in this world has a cause and effect, and he had made decisions in his life which enacted that cycle. Such was his decision to leave Konoha, which had succeeded in him finding family and eventually his presence leading to them being killed.

But then what about right or wrong then? If as humans, people didn't look out for each other, helping those who couldn't help themselves and just settling to just bask in the bliss of ignorance while others suffered, then what would be of the world? What would be of people's morals? Which drove people to imagine themselves in the shoes of those experiencing hardships and to try to be better people?

He sighed as he looked up, looking up at the worn ceiling as he leaned back into his chair, putting his hands on the back of his head. What they needed the most wasn't a hot meal on a table, but hope. These people had lost all hope, Gatou had mercilessly broken their will to fight and thus they were reduced to mere pitiful shells of their former self. Simply living because they woke up, seeing the sunrise and sunset as just another day of suffering and hunger. They were merely alive because they didn't have the guts to kill themselves, they just lived, and hoping that by some miracle they would wake up to find that Gatou had died and that sickened Naruto.

A life like that was while terrible, something that Naruto wouldn't stand for if he had breath in his body. To live the rest of your days lurking around the streets and searching for food where you knew it wasn't. To ignore the monster responsible for so much out of fear, it simply was cowardly. We all have to face our and confront the monsters in life in order to get what we want and just as with every monster, Gatou had to be slain. His blood would be source that would help breed the freedom would unshackle these people from his grasp. Naruto couldn't figure out if just killing the man was a tad too extreme or not, and he briefly entertained the thought that maybe Danzo's ideals were seeping back into him again. He supposed that if he used the experience and knowledge he had stolen from the man to save people's lives then he had nothing to worry over. The reason Gatou had to be killed was solely not for what he was doing in Nami, but the fact that he used the same methods to ruin the lives of thousands and smuggle drugs, kill or use people simply because of his insatiable greed for money.

Naruto looked at Kenjurou who hadn't yet touched his food. His eyebrow rose in curiosity, "Why haven't you touched your food yet?"

"I can't. I can't sit here and eat this while other kids are out there starving." The youth muttered with his head low and his eyes looking forlornly.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly at that, "That's your choice to do but you're going to have to eat something or you will starve" Naruto said with a slight coldness in his tone while glaring into the distance, "Show some gratitude and try to enjoy the food and worry about that later" he said while his gaze never left the surface of the upper boundary of the small stand.

He watched as the boy hesitantly picked up his chopsticks and began eating the bowl of ramen he had ordered, slurping up the ramen and inhaling the smell with his nose. Naruto had ordered ramen for them knowing that most of the stores didn't have much to sell and it also sort of reminded him of Ayame and Teuchi and he also knew that with ramen, two bowls would be able to fill them up until tomorrow. It made him sad how he had almost forgot about the two during the four years he had been on his own and he wished he could see them again, but the chances of that happening were very slim considering how he had left. Another reason he had chosen Ramen was because he also didn't have money to splash around and even with the money he had found in Uzushiogakure, he had only taken enough to get him through a few months, before he could find a way to earn some money. The only way to help them was to take out Gatou.

* * *

Naruto raised the flaps to the stand before he walked out and took a stroll through the village. He still needed to find a place to stay for the night and the day was slowly edging to a close and with how side-tracked he got, he hadn't even had time to do so and he didn't even know where to begin. He walked around asking here and there for an Inn or any place where he could rent a room with people pointing him further down the village, toward the coastal region of Nami before eventually he found himself before a relatively well-built house. It looked moderate on the outside but Naruto could care less if they had offered tents for sleeping, he just needed somewhere to lay his head while he figures out what to do. Opening the door and drawing a jingling sound out of it, he went in, and looked around on the inside. It was fairly decent with creamy white-painted walls, creamy yellow curtains with the rare flowery decorations here and there and what looked like family decorations; in pictures which included a man with shaggy brown hair which was greying and dark eyes. Standing in front of the man and smiling brightly was a young girl with long brown hair and brown eyes and at the end was a woman with black hair whom Naruto assumed would be the mother. Her arm was wrapped around the youth.

Naruto noticed that some of the pictures were of the couple from when they were young as the girl was not in them while some depicted them in their elder days.

Naruto walked up to the reception desk where he could see an old woman lazily knitting a skirt with fluid movements that would put weaving Jutsu handseals to shame. She had chin length shaggy grey hair and wore a tan hat on her head and a brown cardigan jacket over a grey shirt.

Like many other shops in Nami, it was empty. There were no signs of any people who rented the place.

Naruto smiled as he called out to the lady once he had stopped near the desk "Good afternoon"

The aged woman stopped her knitting to look at Naruto "Good afternoon young lad. How may I help?" she asked, plastering a warm smile on her face, something which surprised Naruto slightly. Not so much the smile, but the fact that it was genuine through and through. It wasn't something he expected from a citizen of Nami.

He scratched the back of his head before he responded "I need a room, for a week…maybe more" he looked at her expectantly and watched as he hummed in thought.

"Alright just wait here." she stood up, walking toward a rack which held had hundreds of keys hanging off it. She caressed them with her hands, shuffling around before she found what she was looking for and returned.

"Here, will you like to pay now or after your stay?" she asked as she handed him the keys.

Naruto's eyes lit up in contemplation as he gave that notion a thought, "Um, well since I'm not sure how long I'll stay I'll pay now just in case." he said as he shuffled into his money sack and pulling out some money much to the woman's concealed delight. "How much will it be?" he asked as he looked up at her.

"10 000 ryo." she responded.

"Alright….here you go." Naruto said as he handed her the money which she gladly took, gazing at it almost as if simply touching it was a rare experience in itself. "Where can I find my room?"

That snapped her out of her daze and she looked back at Naruto, "Oh yes, just go up the stairs, take the first turn on your left and head down the hallway, it is number…18." She said to the blond after flipping through a large book. With a nod Naruto began his ascent up the stairway before he was stopped by the woman's voice as it reached his ears. "Oh and thank you."

"The pleasure is all mine." He said before he continued on his way. After walking for a few more seconds, he found himself before the room number 18 and he inserted his key in before pushing the door open and entering the room. It was fairly simple, a neatly made bed and headboard with a broken lamp lying on the headboard.

Naruto plopped himself on the bed gently and soon lost himself to unconsciousness.

* * *

**(Two days later)**

Naruto was sat upon his bed, a thoughtful glint in his rippled eyes as they roamed over a map of Nami no Kuni's topography. He was trying to puzzle out the pattern to Gatou's shipping and possibly infer an outline of when the next shipping would be so that he could find out about Gatou's location. He had been doing some investigations and asking the people for where Gatou lived but most just shivered at the question while some were tight-lipped about it or didn't know and merely feared the consequences of even revealing even minor information about the man. It also seemed that the short statured business magnate was smart as well, as no one in Nami no Kuni seemed to know of his true location or place of residence due to how meticulously he covered his tracks. He only oversaw some of the shipments and mostly sent his thugs to do the job. What made Naruto angry was that, the man practically had the country in the palm of his calloused hand yet he still added to the people's suffering by forcefully abducting teenage girls and selling them off to slavers and selling drugs and other contrabands to various buyers.

The man's greed and love for money was insatiable it seemed but Naruto hoped to put an end to all of that very soon.

This meant that he had to do some old school espionage, an aspect of being a Shinobi he never had any love for.

Naruto wrapped his red scarf on his face, its long tails flowing down his chest as he brushed his messy blond hair, making it spikier and wilder. He looked at himself on the mirror, marvelling at how his hair now fell over his eyes in large bangs and fringes, obscuring his eyes from view and how he now resembled _that_…man. It also reached to his shoulders now, and the blond briefly toyed with the idea of cutting it but decided against it. If he was to stay out of sight, he needed to appear unrecognizable to Konoha. Speaking of which, Naruto was surprised that Hi no Kuni and Konoha hadn't done anything or made any attempts to intervene with wave, considering that the small island country supposedly had good ties with Fire country.

As such, one would expect that Hi no Kuni would come out guns blazing when a minor country near their territory undergone a similar ordeal to that of Nami no Kuni's. He just assumed that the reason Konoha or any other hidden village were not helping was merely because they chose to remain muted and ignorant to the situation in Nami, as they did with Uzu no Kuni.

He wasn't certain and perhaps he was being prejudiced toward Konoha and Hi no Kuni because of his bad history with them. There was always a niggling thought in his head, driving him against the wall in frustration with the same whispered thoughts of 'It's still your home' a fate which while he despised and despaired to think about, was inescapable.

Naruto usually dismissed it with a violent shake of his head. Everything about Konoha was not his home, regardless of the fact that he was born there and the fact that it was home to _him_, his father, a thought he had always repressed and one which caused a bitter feeling to crawl up his throat.

So would anyone truly blame him for harbouring an apparent dislike, a strong one that is, for a village that betrayed his brethren, casting aside whatever alliance or agreement they had and settling for sitting and merely watching them being slaughtered, not even bothering to lift a finger because it wouldn't harm them in the long run? Nonetheless, he didn't know why but getting involved with a country's internal affairs somehow bothered him but what was he to do? If it was the right thing to do, then it had to be done, right?

He was also quite perplexed by the fact that none of the other four great Shinobi nations, especially those who bore a bitter hatred for Konoha hadn't decided to take advantage of Konoha's negligence to seize Nami no Kuni for their own and he wondered if they somehow saw the small island country as insignificant or a lost cause. Regardless this just went to show that depending on the great nations was while advantageous, greatly inadvisable. A prime example of that was Uzu no Kuni, their alliance with Konoha had all just amounted to bullshit and worthlessly empty promises made and not fulfilled. For instance, where had Konoha been when Kiri, Kumo and Iwa laid to waste the Uzumaki and their village? He surmised they had probably decided against helping because they were more concerned about the losses they would suffer in a very 'ambitious' attempt to fulfil their alliance. After all, they already had their Jinchuuriki who would breed for them future Jinchuurikis _within_ Konoha. So in essence, Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki clan's usefulness was over lived and no longer needed. He figured that this was one of those reasons that had made his grandfather bitter at the thought of Konoha. As for him, if there was one thing he greatly despised was those who went back on their promises, to him it was unforgivable. However with that thought in mind, it suddenly dawned on him that he had made and broken promises as well, he was no better. He had vowed to protect Hotaru and Higure but that had all been empty words on his account as well, and recently he had promised Kenjurou, the young girl called Ageha and those other kids that he wouldn't let anyone hurt them anymore. So would he break that as well, by sitting around wondering about the consequences of helping Nami? If the consequences would be negative for him and positive for those homeless kids, then would he mind?

'_Certainly not I guess'_ he thought with a sigh, using his hand to brush the hair hanging off his face.

He strapped his sword to his back, putting on his long dark overcoat before he disappeared in a burst of fire.

Naruto surveyed the large warehouse of the Gatou corp branch in Nami. The building was fairly tall, with a simple square structure and architecture with triangular zinc roofing and great air vents on peaking atop the roof. Atop it was a large sign post with the words Gato Corporation. Armed guards roamed the place at every corner and Naruto swore there were around a hundred men casually patrolling around every entrance and all around the storehouse, their hands twitching to their swords with a well found paranoia. He stood behind a mass of crowded trees, using his Shinobi stealth training to slink into the shadows of the night to perfect precision.

Naruto gazed up into the darkened night skies, marvelling at the silver moon which hung above, its great twilight bathing the village in bright cool twilight. There was always something about the moonlight which just seemed attractive to the blond, almost like an irresistible charm that sought to pull him toward it and seemingly bathe him in its cool warmth. He sighed as he dispersed the melancholic thoughts with a soft shake of his head, it wouldn't do for him to get distracted while he still had a mission to complete would it? With noiseless movements, Naruto disappeared in a blur of motion as he swiftly ran, his movements barely rustling the leaves on the ground as he went past one of the guards without him noticing due to how fast the blond blurred pat him. The man just twitched his head up in curiosity as a brief breeze of light wind brushed past him before with a nonchalant shrug, he went back to his duties, carelessly whistling a jaunty tune and kicking his feet.

Naruto carefully snuck toward the building entrance with fluid movements, making sure not to alert the next guard who was dozing off a few feet away from him. After a while he found himself standing near the tall gate-like door, and as he scurried in, the distinctive smell of odour, evaporated sweat and a sharp disgusting smell that he wasn't quite familiar with invaded his covered nostrils through the tiny fabrics of his scarf. It was sharp and the blond felt that if not for his scarf he would be wildly coughing and consequently alert the guards to his presence, something he definitely didn't wish to have happen. After all if he wished to make them aware to his presence, he wouldn't have resorted to sneaking around, he would simply just walk out there and annihilate them all. This was purely espionage, no flashy Jutsu or shenanigans; he just merely wished to collect data and information about Gatou and his recent activities.

He supposed that to not alarm Gatou he had to go silently about things and also not kill any one as it might arouse suspicion within the man and cause him to suspect someone hired assassins or mercenaries to get rid of him. Settling himself, he took to absorbing the appearance of the insides of the building. The wide flooring was lined with various crack lines, with the upper part of the house lacking any true ceiling whatsoever. There was no paint and the walls were a dull grey colour and Naruto could see tiny blue-ish Chakra sources which he instantly took for rats as one rushed down a pipe when his gaze travelled toward it.

There were tall stacks of sealed goods on hundred odd large shelves, which formed countless mountains and created a means which helped create separate rooms or divisions within the tall structure. Naruto went toward the nearest shelf, pulling out a large box which he opened only to be met with several large bags containing a pure white powder. He punctured a hole in one of them and let the white matter spill into his hand, rubbing its fine texture before he frowned _'I guess it is true, he does sell drugs'_ he thought to himself with visible disgust lining his brow, which had furrowed deeply, creating a trench line on his temples.

'_Well, let's see what he has in the containers then'_ Naruto walked toward a large shipping red freight container. For some reason this one was the largest of the countless ones which lay within the storage house and Naruto, out of caution more than anything sent Chakra to his eyes to see what lay within the container before he attempted to open it. As soon as he had done so his eyes picked up various Chakra signatures all stuffed inside and restrained by some means he still couldn't discern. He supressed the urge to growl in anger as he slowly strode toward it. He sent Chakra to his arms, activating his Asura path ability before with unbelievable strength he hauled the door right open, tearing it apart as if it was paper and immediately as he did so, he came face to face with the frightened visages of some children, mostly girls peeking into their late teens whom were all restrained with taping covering their mouths and ropes wrapped around their forms. They were also dressed in heavily revealing and similar black bondage clothing, a thought that disturbed Naruto to think about the meaning behind it. He looked at them, remarking in his head the fear written across their faces before a surprising loud childlike voice sounded out, catching him by surprise "Nii-san! I knew you would come"

Naruto's head snapped up as he immediately recognized the voice, glancing steadily toward the owner only to gape at the sight of the little girl from that day, the one whom had defended Kenjurou. Almost as if on brotherly instinct, her name came crushing back into his head and he frowned as he spoke to the little girl who was hugging him at the waste, shedding happy tears.

"Ageha?" Naruto queried with clear concern in his voice.

"Nii-san, I was so scared. I thought that…that the bad people would take me away" The petite girl continued sobbing into his shirt, her warm tears wetting the blonde's black shirt and her actions leading Naruto to sigh with narrowed eyes as he regarded her with a soft stare, temporarily forgetting about the dozens of barely clad teenage girls now staring up at him in confusion. Naruto was half listening to the small girl, as some of the thoughts floating in his mind were of where were the other kids who were with her four days ago? He worried that something terrible might have happened to them "But Nii-san is here to save me right" she said innocently while she refused to let go of his waist, her voice snapping the blond out of his musings.

Naruto nodded with a comforting smile on his face "Yeah, I'll get you out of here and then I will buy you a hot bowl of ramen alright" he ruffled at her messy black hair to add more meaning and affection to the gesture.

The young girl's lips quivered at that as tears welled inside her innocent big blue eyes "R-really, and this time Nii-san would eat with Ageha-chan?" she asked as she stared up at him with a look that utterly melted his heart, a dangerous Chakra-less Jutsu which he knew very well was irresistible and hard to fight against, luckily, it was especially harder for women than men.

"Yeah, I promise" Naruto responded with a beaming smile on his face. He didn't wish to ask the still traumatized girl about the fate of her friends and figured he could ask some of the girls who are here. He didn't want to add further trauma to what she was already suffering or must have gone through. He turned around, horning his gaze on the group of teenage females before he forced a smile on his face "Alright girls, please don't panic. I'm getting you out of here okay" he said to which they all nodded their heads since they were stripped off of their voices with the tape covering their mouths. Naruto brought his hand into the cross handseal, and three distinctive puffs of smoke erupted around him, revealing three solid copies of the blond whom hastily got to work on untying the captives while Naruto held Ageha by her hand.

After a while his clones dispelled, signalling that they had completed their duties and Naruto who was on guard looking at whether anyone was approaching their position.

'_Well, I guess there goes my first espionage mission.'_ Naruto thought to himself dryly. He was aware that to accommodate the people he had now rescued, he would have to alter the category of his mission from espionage to rescue mission and those weren't exactly subtle or clean. He knew that to safely escape with all the girls he was with, he would have to '_pave a path'_, meaning killing yet again. He didn't revel in taking the life of another person, but if the situation called for it then he would have no regrets about it. What he was afraid of was showing that side of himself to the girl beside him. He didn't want her to think him a monster or some sort of psychopathic killer because for some reason her approval mattered to him more than anything else. He felt this compelling inclination toward protecting her, and he couldn't show her that side of himself. She was so full of innocence, full of dreams that she reminded him of himself and Naruto knew he couldn't afford to taint her soul like his had already been with the horrors of Shinobi life. With that thought in mind, he reached a decision. He brought his hands into a cross handseal yet again and two Kage Bunshin exploded into action before him.

Naruto stared at them both over his shoulder as his eyes narrowed "You know what to do" they both nodded at that as their hands went to their respective swords as they grasped them before they gave him sharp nods of their heads. Naruto felt a sagging weight settle over his shoulders as he uttered the next words "Good and don't make a mess" they nodded as they understood the command from the real blond before they burst into action, speeding toward the outside where Gatou's guards were.

* * *

Matoko Sanji was just your regular bodyguard. Brown hair, teal eyes, a bored look about him and short beard, with a tall structure. He was a man in his early 30's and with nothing truly extraordinary going on in his life. He woke up every single day and came to his job without a hassle. Life for him was vain, and the strong always won. As such, being one of the sufferers of Gatou's reign of terror in Nami no Kuni, he knew that there was no going back and that the only way to get by was to befriend the very monster whom had imprisoned the country. His saying being 'if you can't beat them then you should join them', as such he did his bidding without complains and didn't bother with any other person. The people of Nami in his opinion were very foolish not to recognize the potential of having Gatou Company could bring to them. He had joined Gatou's cause and he was now reaping the rewards.

He was the only one in his opinion smart enough to see the benefits of allying oneself with the business magnate and he didn't care who got hurt, as long as at the end of the day he got his pay check, then all was peachy. He was so engrossed in his thoughts while he lazily toyed with a golden watch on his wrist that he didn't notice as the fellow night patrol guard near him was pulled into the darkness before a low squelch, muffled grunting and gurgling was heard, that went unheard by the man.

'_Ah, life is good'_ he thought to himself with a smile on his face before the gleam of steel caught his gaze and he snapped his eyes up to look at what it was only to come face to face with blond hair, red scarf and that would be the last thing he would see as with a flash of steel, his head was severed from his neck.

Naruto looked at the man before with a sigh, he picked him by his leg, dragging him across the hard ground as he moved him out of view.

**(Back Inside Warehouse)**

The real Naruto's rippled eyes sedately parted open as he felt the excess memories of his two Kage Bunshin filter into his mind, displaying to him new knowledge and the events his doppelgangers had just went through or rather, created. He sighed as he fixated his gaze on the young girl beside him who was clutching at his hand with a vice grip. How he wished to be young, innocent and oblivious.

"Alright, the coast is clear. Let's go…" Naruto said, his strained and weary voice demanding the attention of the girls as they all nodded their heads.

Naruto picked up Ageha by her waste gently, before settling her on his back in a piggyback position and started striding intently toward the entrance. He stopped when he saw that not all of them were moving and looked behind him with a raised eyebrow "What's wrong?" honestly Naruto felt tired and drained. The weight of killing so many people in one night rested and weighed heavily on his conscience and he certainly had no time to deal with moody and temperamental teenagers.

"Um, she can't walk. She was injured when they brought us here" a girl with bright orange hair and dark eyes said as her gaze struggled to meet Naruto's, the ground seemingly becoming very interesting for her as she drew lines on it with her eyes.

Naruto shook his head with a tired sigh before without any physical command and handseal, a clone suddenly exploded out of nowhere, the large smoke displaying how much Chakra the blond had put into it, clearly out of annoyance. The Kage Bunshin moved near the injured girl who had light shaded blond hair, brown eyes and plumb lips. She appeared to be shy, at least that was what Naruto deduced from her quite demeanour and her face lit up with a furious scarlet colour as Naruto's shadow clone hoisted her up, nestling her into a comfortable position as it carried her bridal style. She shamelessly snuggled into the clone's chest, her actions seeming to bring angry glares out of her fellow females, whom Naruto had noticed had been giving him the glad eye ever since his appearance.

"Anyone else who needs to be carried?" Naruto inquired with a hint of irritation and miff in his voice, they all looked down as if contemplating whether to answer or not before Naruto began walking away, with the dozen or so girls following after him, while Ageha rode on his back contently. He felt her go lax on his back as she suddenly lost the battle to stay awake as exhaustion warped her into blissful rest. Naruto heard her mutter one last thing in contentment "Thank you…Naruto-niisan" she sighed out deeply with a soft tone awhile her hands were wrapped around his waist tightly as she fell asleep.

Somehow hearing her words seemed to ease the guilt resting on Naruto's heart and he felt that his actions had at least saved someone innocent from a tragic fate. He picked up his speed as he wished to just leave the area before any more negative thoughts were triggered by the gloomy and depressing atmosphere of Gatou's warehouse.

Today he had just taken a daring first step in his desire to save Nami. No doubt Gatou would be alarmed now and he might react unpredictably but he would ensure he was ready for whatever onslaught he might send his way, but Naruto doubted that would happen. Men like Gatou hated spending money, even if it would be beneficial. Thus Naruto extremely doubted he would send any mercenaries after him.

* * *

**(Next Day) **

Naruto awoke with a start the next morning. Dawn had not yet broke through when he was already outside, aimlessly strolling around the streets and waiting on the sun to rise. He supposed it was his body having grown accustomed to waking up very early as he usually did during his training in Uzu no Kuni. His worries had been rested the previous night as he discovered that Kenjurou and the rest of his crew had not been hurt or whatsoever. He hadn't slept soundly though and attributed his waking up early to that as well, after all how could you when nightmares of bloody black blades, terrible screams and death plagued your mind.

Naruto swore he was no longer sane sometimes. The Shinobi profession was one for insane people or those with very strong hearts. A fragile and very sensitive person wouldn't make it a day as a Ninja, not as one of those Genin, but as a true Ninja. It was no wonder many who were Shinobi were often paranoid, and were driven insane or to giving in to the temptation of suicide by their not so savoury deeds.

Naruto just sighed as he walked down the streets of Nami with calm steps as he banished his thoughts. Higure had told him all there was to know about the hardships and life of Shinobi but still it didn't make it better though. At first he had to admit he had thought he could face all that ever came his way and protect his family, however it took their death to disillusionize him of that naïve thought. He momentarily halted his musings as his eyes caught movement out of the corner of his eyes from the opposite street, making him stop. His eyes narrowed as he saw two Genin wearing two Konohagakure headbands. There were two of them, a girl and a boy. The girl had striking pink hair and wore a red outfit while the boy was clad in white shorts, a dark blue shirt and had raven coloured hair. He somehow seemed annoyed for some reason Naruto couldn't fathom while the girl kept sending him disturbing glances.

He was just about to leave when the girl of the duo called out to him, her loud voice assaulting his senses "Hello," Naruto pretended as if he hadn't heard as he carried on walking. That though, only served to make the girl hurry her steps to catch up with him while her teammate simply sauntered and trailed back slowly with an air of arrogance emanating from him as he had his hands in his pockets. She slowed down after getting level with him while he persisted with his calm gait, fixing him with a stare of forest green eyes as she spoke "Excuse me, would you happen to know where we can find clothes around here. You see our idiot teammate tore most of his clothes off and now he has nothing else" she asked innocently, giving an explanation at the end as she smiled sincerely at Naruto.

Naruto pulled his scarf up to his nose, an action he noted out of the corner of his eye seemed to intrigue the ravenhead boy and make his eyes narrow as he edged closer to them "I'm afraid I won't be able to help you with that Konoha Ninja-san, I am new around here as well" Naruto spoke with a voice laced with some measure of contempt, struggling to banish the onslaught of bad memories at seeing her face and Hitai-ate. In the end he settled for ending the conversation there as his answer brought her to a dull halt while Naruto slowly increased the distance between them again. However she ran after him again and Naruto decided to stop and merely tolerate her for a little while longer.

His patience was wearing thin, what little he had of it.

"Oh, are you a traveller then?" she inquired with the disappointed look from earlier vanished from her visage. Her question was met with a flat look and she faltered and planted an uneasy smile on her face "O-oh, um never mind. Well thank you for your help" she said as she bowed to Naruto who merely looked at her curiously.

Naruto felt slightly bad for being rude and responded "I apologize for not being of much help. You can ask around, I'm sure someone would lend you a hand" Naruto said somewhat softly.

She seemed to light up at his change of demeanour as she smiled again "Alright thank you again for your hel-"the girl was interrupted as her previously quiet teammate strode forward, stopping in front of Naruto and glaring at him with his onyx coloured eyes.

"Who are you and why do you look familiar?" the boy asked suddenly with a demanding tone, driven and enforced by a haughty visage. His apparent rudeness did not surprise Naruto however, nor did his antagonistic conduct.

Naruto just remained quiet and regarded the two with a scrutinizing stare with his barely visible eyes. The girl looked slightly interested and nervous all the same as she fidgeted while the boy was exuding an aura of hostility from him. Without anything else to say, Naruto swivelled around to walk away, however a hand clasped his shoulder tightly, drawing Naruto to halt his movements. Naruto glanced back over his shoulder to see the same ravenhead boy looking at him intensely with a furrow on his eyebrows. Naruto shifted his gaze to the boy's hand which was on his shoulder as he gazed curiously at it, almost as if it was a stain or a bug that he felt the urge to rid himself of or crush.

Suddenly the air grew heavy and grim and Naruto's eyes narrowed threateningly as the bangs hanging off Naruto's face, hiding his eyes from view slowly parted as if by some work of a magician to reveal cold, piercing purple ringed eyes which roamed over the ravenhead with a shiver inspiring hardness.

Naruto's Chakra flared slightly as his eyes grew glacial cold, a dull frosty gleam appearing within them and making the Konoha Genins both flinch and cower slightly at his cold stare "It would do you good to let go. You see I'm not very fond of Konoha Shinobi" Naruto let the obvious threat linger in the air as his cold ripple-eyed stare seemed to drive daggers through the young ravenhead, drawing a faltering expression out of him.

The dark haired youth's eyes widened as his gaze met that of Naruto's rippled-eyed gaze. He felt himself remove his hand from Naruto's hand thoughtlessly, an action which surprised him, almost as if his natural, survival instinct were trying to ward him from an impending danger. _'That look in his eyes. Almost like…' _the ravenhead thought worriedly.

"Excuse me" Naruto said as he swivelled around on his feet and began treading away from the Konoha duo with calm steps, leaving them standing in the middle of the dirt street.

The two remained standing on the street where the blond left them, unmoving and struggling to form any words. Sakura was trembling at the cold feeling that had washed over her when the blond had glared at Sasuke. She was extremely wary of that guy; even Sasuke seemed affected if the shaking of his hands were anything to go by. It disturbed her how much the blond mystery had shook her crush with just a stare and no impressive amount of blunt threats of death and what made her queasy even more was how he seemed as if he was about their age. Kakashi had told them that there were Ninja younger than him, who could possibly rival him in strength and that hunter-nin had been one of those, but the strange blond they had just met felt…she didn't know how to phrase it but if she had to dig deep within herself to think up an answer, she would say even stronger than Zabuza and way more terrifying due to how unassuming he seemed.

"Sa…Sasuke-kun" she finally managed to utter with her breathing sounding laboured and strained as she stared her equally, if not visibly shaken ravenhead teammate.

The ravenhead's fist was clenched and was quivering with great vibrations of muscles while his brows were furrowed with an emotion he couldn't quite discern, an emotion no other person was able to evoke out of him except _that_ man. He had never before felt fear at facing an opponent, but back then, when his gaze had met that other boy's, he had felt it. A chilling aura that just warranted his slow and painful death and the blond boy's eyes held emotion Sasuke understood well enough, a dark past lingered behind those strange rippled eyes but that was never enough to unnerve the Uchiha. So what was it about the strange blond that just rang alarm bells within his head? His eyes had obviously shown that he could follow up on his threat with a brutal efficiency and that it wouldn't disturb him to kill at all. There were a myriad of questions rampaging through Sasuke's head, such as whether the blond was a Shinobi but Sasuke knew that from the scathing killing intent he had conjured up, that he had to be, no questions asked and a very dangerous one at that.

Sasuke tore his gaze from the direction the blond had melted toward to gaze at the hysteric pink-haired beside him "Sakura, we…we should get to Kakashi now. Something's fishy about that guy." he said with a slightly trembling voice as his breathing had not yet fully composed enough. She nodded and the two were soon on their way as they turned from street to street, moving with visibly hurried steps.

* * *

Naruto was fuming as he calmly strode down the opposite street, his tense posture and cold demeanour frightening ordinary civilians who did all they could to pull themselves out of the way of the blond. Everything around him was a blur and he couldn't even make out any of the people or heads or tails of his surroundings. All he was thinking about was what that Genin said. As always with people from Konoha, the ravenheaded boy just demanded something of him. _They_ just demand things of him as if they run his life, he had been mere seconds from bashing in that Genin's skull, regardless of the fact that he recalled he had went to the academy with him.

He remembered the boy clearly; after all he had spent most of his short days in Konoha's academy trying to prove he was better than him. He was sort of surprised to see that he was a Genin now and wondered if he would be one too had he stayed in Konoha, an action which drew a bitter scowl out of him.

He was so lost in his musings that he failed to notice a figure emerge from the next corner before they bumped into him and Naruto fell on top of them in a very compromising position. Naruto opened his eyes and was immediately met with chocolate-brown which stared at him calmly although he could see that on their face the person was lightly blushing. Naruto took in the appearance of the person underneath him, she was a girl obviously from her shapely face, moist lips and pale skin with long dark brown hair that went to her waist. She was wearing a pink, sleeveless kimono with pale red edges and decorated with small plum-coloured swirls, that went to her ankles and on her neck she had some kind of dark leash-like choker. She had a slender frame from what he could feel…

She blinked up at him as the two couldn't find words to say. Naruto stood up first before offering her a hand which she reluctantly took and he hoisted her up to his level. Naruto stared up at her, or rather her Chakra coils and suppressed a frown. This girl was obviously a Shinobi and she was good if how well she was suppressing her Chakra was anything to go by. It seemed that something was going down in Nami what with all the Shinobi he had encountered but he wasn't yet aware of it.

"Are you alright" Naruto asked as he dusted himself off, keeping his gaze on the figure before him.

She nodded her head in concurrence as she picked up her small basket which had fallen over and spilled all kinds of green plants and medicinal herbs "Yes I am; forgive me. I wasn't watching my step" she said with an apologetic bow of her head and a very tranquil tone.

"It is no trouble, I wasn't watching mine either and I spilled all of your herbs as a result"

"It is no matter, I can just pick new ones" she said, waving off his apology with a smile "You're not from around here are you?" she observed calmly.

Naruto shrugged as he answered, "Yeah, and so are you" her Chakra flared as she supressed a flinch. Naruto had grown well in reading people's reactions. When a person flinched or tensed in unease and when they lied their Chakra flared somewhat. "Anyway, because I knocked down and spoiled all your herbs, I'll help you pick new ones" he proclaimed and she nodded with a smile that Naruto could see was clearly forced.

She began walking and Naruto followed after "What is your name?" Naruto suddenly asked. He knew that somehow had probably come out rudely but he was still feeling the adrenaline of the anger from earlier circulating through his veins, his boiling blood still flowing with agitation.

"Haku..." she responded coolly and flatly, "and you are?" she looked at him curiously with her brown eyes, her gaze going to the scarf he had on his face, almost as if trying to peer through it.

Naruto gave a thin smile behind his bulgy cloth covering his face as he spoke "Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you Haku-san"

She acknowledged with a nod "And I you Naruto-san" she responded and returned to staring absently ahead with an unreadable expression on her face.

Naruto looked at her curiously "So who are you picking herbs for Haku-san?" Naruto questioned with a well found interest.

She gave a half a smile as her lips twitched with the makings of a smile, surprise coming to Naruto's face at how genuine it seemed. "For a friend of mine, they were injured very recently" she responded simply, as she let her hidden gaze scope the area around them with a paranoid glint within her eye that Naruto picked up fairly easily.

"Oh, that is very sweet of you" Naruto said with a kind smile of his own. Haku couldn't detect any traces of deception on his face although he did give her this feeling that he wasn't normal. His eyes were proof enough of that and Haku didn't want to think that he was sent here on a mission to eliminate her and Zabuza.

She was vulnerable, but she still could defend herself if anything hostile aroused. She still had her weapons however, not as many as she would've wanted or to her satisfaction. "So where are you from Naruto-san?" she asked the question that had been on her mind ever since she bumped into the blond. It was not so much because of curiosity, but just to try to gauge the blonde's reaction to it. She was good at picking up lies, but she wasn't sure if she could see through this strange enigma. After all, there were also some people who were very good at lying and lying was an art in itself for some.

"Formerly Konoha…" Naruto said without missing a beat with a slightly colder tone and noted how she visibly tensed once more.

That answer seemed to ignite a brief spark in her eyes before it disappeared as if it was never there. "Is Naruto-san a Shinobi or just a traveller?" Naruto stopped on the middle of the street, regarding Haku with an unreadable stare.

Naruto chuckled dryly. "You know, you ask a lot of questions Haku-san." He said as he shifted his gaze to stare at the brunette.

"I apologize, I'm just an inquisitive person and you interest Me." she said absently before she blushed as she caught up with what she had said.

"Its fine, I'm formerly from Konoha, I do not live there. I have received Shinobi training and I don't know whether I am a traveller or a wanderer but I think wanderer sounds better" Naruto said after a brief moment of thought, his apparent disregard for Haku's recent statement bringing a relieved sigh out of her.

Naruto rubbed at his right elbow with his hand as they continued walking calmly "What about you Haku-san? Have you received trainingin the_ Shinobi_ _arts_?" Naruto asked while the two were standing in the middle of the street they had been walking down.

After a few seconds of silence Haku found her voice, speaking with her eyes narrowed at how easily Naruto was egging her on into answering his questions truthfully. "I am from Mizu no kuni but now I travel from place to place with my friend and yes I have received Shinobi training…" she paused "Although it was only enough for self-defence" she said as she rubbed at her elbow with her palm.

"I see…" And with that they continued on in uncomfortable silence with Naruto now leading her while she trailed back to collect her raging thoughts.

Haku didn't know how but she was a little nervous. Her conversation with Naruto had unsettled her greatly and she was now feeling a tense pressure settling over her. Although on the outside she was perfectly calm, her thoughts and heart were raging on the inside. Her head was swirling with thoughts and doubts, she somehow didn't want to go any further into the forest with Naruto. The way he read her so easily could only mean trouble, his gaze peered right through her as she spoke, almost seeming to spot her lies a mile away with the sharp gaze of a marksman. She didn't know if he was a Hunter-nin working for the Mizukage or if he was leading her toward somewhere where his team was so that they could ambush her but he certainly had made an impression, an unsettling one that is. Now she was merely following so not to raise his suspicion, she felt it wouldn't be good to blow her cover and as such she supressed her paranoia.

She was somehow relieved when as if reading her thoughts or her inner turmoil again, Naruto beckoned for them to stop. They had stopped at a clearing which was open to view and not away from the village by much, and for some reason she felt safer that way. It was very uncharacteristic of her and something she was sure her master would rebuke her over out of disappointment, but for some reason this…man made her feel very vulnerable and exposed.

"Ah, this seems like a nice spot. What do you think Haku-san?" Naruto asked casually.

She nodded her head while her eyes travelled to his, locking his eyes in a questioning stare "Yes, but why did you pick this one Naruto-san?" she asked as she slowly spread her sharp senses, taking in the fresh fragrance and murky smell of nature all around her as birds jauntily chirped the day away.

Naruto slowly crossed his hands across his chest as he gave her a questioning look "Well I just couldn't lead you all the way into the forest with me being a stranger and all could I?"

"I suppose that is correct and thoughtful of you…" she said as she knelt down tucking her Kimono under her gently as she picked a small plant, looking at it with a curious and examining stare while her other eye roamed Naruto.

Naruto knelt down beside her, his close proximity slightly unsettling her "Can you show me which ones I should pick?" he asked softly trying to rest her worries and alleviate the tense atmosphere surrounding her, knowing he was partly responsible for her setting up a barrier of sorts between them.

She glanced at him before pointing to a small green plant which grew taller than the other small weedy plants on the green covered plain "Oh, they are these ones." She pointed him to his obstacle and the blond began his own picking.

"Alright…" Naruto said as he began picking and carefully throwing the small medicinal plants into the basket.

The two knelt down and began picking the small medicinal plants in some uncomfortable silence. After a while they were finished, with Haku's basket containing more than it had earlier, which had been spilled.

"Thank you again Naruto-san"

Naruto flashed her a small thin smile "It's the least I could do after making you spill your previous basket." Naruto said quietly, his soft a few shades softer than before.

"Hai but with your help I got more" Naruto just gave a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Will you be picking more tomorrow?" he asked, his statement drawing some measure of surprise out of her as her eyebrow rose, only for her eyes to return back to normal a heartbeat later.

"Not tomorrow I won't. These will last a few days, did Naruto-san have something important planned for tomorrow" she said softly. Her mind was being assaulted with thoughts and suspicions. What did this boy want with her? What motive lay behind his actions? Had he ran across her on pure instinct or was it planned? Regardless of the answers, she felt a nagging suspicion and distrust toward him.

"No nothing important, I was just hoping to see you again" Naruto said with an awkward tone in his voice.

She gave him an apologetic look "Oh, I'm afraid I won't have much time tomorrow. Maybe another time" she said apologetically as she stood up, dusting herself off.

"Yes…another time" Naruto whispered softly in response as she walked away. He wasn't sure if she heard him or not.

Naruto watched as Haku disappeared into the distance. The thing that intrigued him greatly was her eyes. They were familiar, eyes that knew of loneliness, isolation, rejection. They were eyes like…his. When he looked at Haku's eyes it had been as if he was looking at a mirror reflection of his own during his time in Konoha or four years ago when Higure and Hotaru died. He knew deep down she was a Shinobi and he was hoping to get to know her better but she was obviously tense and uneasy around him. Maybe it was because of what he had said; he had clearly been prying into her life and making her uncomfortable with his questions and statements. Years of isolation and training seemed to have dulled his social skills and he had just scared a potential friend away.

'_Real smooth Naruto, real smooth' _he thought to himself dryly as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked back into the village.

* * *

**(Hidden location ~ Zabuza's Hideout) **

"Zabuza-sama" Haku said as she entered the hideout, glancing toward the bedridden man as she made her greeting. Zabuza was a man of pale dark skin, spiky black hair that was short and dark eyes that were framed by short eyebrows. He wore a headband on his head with the sign for "Kiri" and his face was wrapped up in bandages in a manner similar to a face mask.

The man didn't even turn his head to regard the female youth as he just stared at the ceiling with contemplative eyes "Haku, what took you so long?" the black haired man who lay underneath some blankets said in a very gruff voice, his tone carrying a peeved tint to it.

"I was side-tracked by….someone" she said simply as she put the small basket of herbs gently on the ground, moving toward the masked man.

"Was it one of Hatake's Genin and I thought that no one would recognize you in that disguise?" Zabuza shifted himself into a sitting position, much to the brunette's disapproval if the slight look of worry in her eyes was anything to go by.

She shook her head as she gave the man a glass of water "No but, there is something about this one. Something dangerous." She said with narrowed eyes "His Chakra reserves, the way he held himself and his physique speaks of one who has undergone harsh training" she surmised quietly with a look of worry.

"Is he with the Konoha ninja?" Zabuza asked while he stared absently at the walls of the hideout room.

"I'm not sure. He stated he is formerly of Konoha and that he is now merely a wanderer. He was wearing no Shinobi headband."

"Hmm, he could be one of Yagura's hunter-nin. I want you to keep an eye on him and if possible, get rid of him." His face hardened even more than it already was as his palm balled into a tight fist "When I face Kakashi once more I don't want any interferences"

"Hai…" Haku nodded as she stood up, brushing the wrinkles on her pink Kimono before she left the man to his thoughts.

Zabuza frowned deeply once the girl was out of his line of sight. If Yagura sent his hunter-nin division after him then things might get chaotic. Another thing he was worried about was Gatou, his begrudging employer. He had a hunch the man was plotting to betray him but he still couldn't put heads or tails to how he hoped to do so. However if the short fool thought he could outsmart him, then he was in for a sad, and painful awakening. He was no one's little puppet. He hadn't been Yagura's puppet, or even Kirigakure's, he was a shark on his own, a cold, ruthless Assassin Ninja.

That thought of puppets drew an irony clad grunt out of him. Who was he fooling here? He was no better himself, controlling and manipulating an innocent teenage girl who thought the world of him. Weaponizing her mere existence and raising her to be a tool that would serve him till its use was no longer of significance to which he would discard her. Perhaps he truly was evil, something that he had never thought himself to be despite his more than savoury associations and record. Was he now no better than Yagura then? He had a reputation, after all being labelled a demon had to amount to something but Zabuza himself was somewhat confused by his personality despite the transparency of it. In the end, he scoffed his thoughts away, he was Zabuza Momochi and he had a rematch to settle with Kakashi. He would figure himself out later.

He was also surprised to hear that one of Gatou's warehouse was attacked, all of the guards and thugs on patrol killed with the mark and precision of an assassin. Apparently Gatou suspected the copy ninja as he was the only one capable of the feat after his defeat of Zabuza but Zabuza was a Shinobi who knew how Ninja operated, and so he knew the man couldn't be responsible. This person seemed to be after Gatou and also Kakashi had his mission orders to follow and couldn't leave the old bridge builder's side as that wasn't within his mission parameters.

This just meant someone else was lurking at large in Nami. He just hoped that Haku would take care of it before it slowly morphed into something ugly.

* * *

**(Tazuna's house)**

A man with spiky, gravity defying silver hair, clad in Konohagakure's Jonin attire and with a bored look about him sat perched lazily on a stool within the kitchen of a moderate house. A ravenhead woman hummed happily as she shuffled with dishes and pots a few metres away from the man, obviously preparing something to eat. Kakashi was trying very hard to engross himself in his book but it was very difficult to do so what with all that had happened so far. The next battle with Zabuza was slowly edging closer and he wasn't sure all his Genin were adequately prepared enough, bar perhaps Sai who was around high Chuunin due to his circumstances as the only remaining member of Danzo's ROOT who had been left in Konoha. The boy's seal had disappeared which had drew them to the conclusion that Danzo was dead, possibly killed by Naruto or Uzumaki Higure.

The runaway blond was another constant within Kakashi's mind, in fact he was all the man could think about save for his teammates and Sensei. The legendary Jounin always put his efforts into hoping that the blond was safe, but hoping could only go so far. Naruto had been gone for four years now, and had more than once ran into trouble. Kakashi was just afraid of what the boy might become should something bad along the line happen to pave him down the wrong direction.

"Kakashi!" the sudden voice hauled him out of his sea of thoughts and he looked over his book to see Sasuke and sakura standing before him, looking obviously shaken, not physically but emotionally.

"Hmmm?" Kakashi made a questioning hum as he observed both of them before returning to his book.

"Do you think it's possible that Zabuza may bring reinforcements?" Sasuke said while he stared at the man with an irritated glare at how he just seemed to pretend as if they weren't there.

The man sighed as he closed his book to regard his two students, his third student Sai was out on bodyguard duty today for the bridge builder, and so it was only him and these two. "It's highly unlikely. One thing I know about a guy like Zabuza is that pride matters more to him than his life. So I doubt he would do that, the last battle wounded his pride a lot. He wants to defeat me himself." he said before looking at the Uchiha who still looked grim and tense "Why do you ask anyway, did something happen?"

It was Sakura who answered "We met this strange guy, maybe around mine and Sasuke-kun's age or older. There was something disturbing about him Sensei" she said, shivering as she recalled the look in Naruto's eyes.

"How so?" Kakashi asked, becoming curious even though his mind was telling him it had to be nothing serious. However his rational side and his heart told him that if it was enough to trouble and ruffle Sasuke's uncaring demeanour then it had to be something.

"He just gave off this aura about him. It's even more terrifying than Zabuza's…" she said again and a look of contemplation entered Kakashi's eyes.

"What did he look like?" the silver-haired man queried while he rubbed at his nose, his single visible eye examining his students expectantly.

It was strangely Sasuke who had remained quiet after his initial speech who moved to answer "It was very hard to discern because he had his face covered with a red scarf and his hair also hung over his eyes. From what we were able to gather is that he has long spiky blond hair, strange purple eyes with multiple circular rings in them, almost like some sort of Doujutsu." Kakashi supressed a flinch of surprise at that, making Sasuke's eyes narrow but he put it off for the sake of continuing "He stood around 5. feet, 8 inch tall but the thing that struck me about him is how familiar he felt. It also seemed as if he didn't want us to see his face" he finished with narrowed eyes, his eyes staring accusingly at the Jounin.

"Thank you for telling me this Sasuke, Sakura." the man said with voice serious tone as he struggled to his feet with his single crutch, an air of urgency about him and a clearly hopeful look in his eyes.

Sasuke however wasn't pleased as he stood before the man, his eyes obviously demanding answers. "What are you hiding from us? Who is this guy?"

Kakashi gave the Uchiha a stern glare "Let it go Sasuke, it doesn't concern you. When I feel you're ready to know, I'll tell you I will" he said sternly, making the Genin grit his teeth in anger before he grunted in understanding that whatever it was, it was a matter that _Genin_ couldn't know of.

Kakashi exited the house as he walked with his crutch creating soft thumps against the ground. He disappeared into the woods before stopping near a secluded clearing. He looked around to ensure that he wasn't being followed before he ran through a set of handseals "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A puff of smoke later, a small brown Ninken stood before the man with a lazy look about its eyes "Pakkun, I have an urgent mission for you"

"What is it?" the small brown-furred canine summon asked at seeing the look of great urgency on Kakashi's face. The summon also noticed the slight hopeful glint within the man's lone eye, something which perplexed it greatly but which it could question later.

"Go to Hokage-sama right now and tell him this…" he began and the dog summon held its breath as it waited for its orders.

Kakashi's eye seemed to glow as he said his next words. He knew that from the description it had to be him. The fact that Sasuke, who ignored everybody, somehow felt that this person was familiar had to only mean one thing… "We have found Naruto!"

* * *

Sarutobi was calmly reclining behind his desk, shuffling through a pile of paperwork and Genin entry forms from various villages for the Chuunin exams to be held in Konoha. The stacks of paperwork were staggering and the old Kage kept chanting an _'I simply can't get a break can I?'_ mantra in thought repeatedly in his head as he stamped and signed form after form. Not only that, but team Kakashi had ran into some trouble on their mission to Nami no Kuni and he had to dish out another mission to a team of ANBU to collect two captured Chuunin from Kirigakure after Kakashi sent a message letting him know of the events and of the enemy duo's capture and location.

His problems only seemed to mount and with the exams edging closer, he had this unnerving feeling that something bad was going to happen. He just hoped that Jiraiya would've found Naruto by then because without him, the village was simply open for invasion. His mere presence alone would be enough to dissuade other countries from trying anything and that was why they had to find him. It was not just about Konoha, but also to protect him. Dangerous people were lurking out there and Naruto had to be in Konoha, where he would be safe.

A puff of smoke alerted him to a new presence and he directed his line of vision toward his window to see one of Kakashi's ninken standing on it. He felt a short wave of fear wash over him, fearing the death of one of team 7's members and the possibility of a failed mission.

The small canine made its way down the large window sill, before stopping before the aged Hokage with a sort of serious atmosphere about it.

"How may I help you Pakkun"

"I have a message from Kakashi, a very important message." It said seriously.

Sarutobi reached for his pipe, slowly igniting the contents within it before taking a long drag of the contents and letting it all out in a relaxing sigh. He nodded his head in a beckoning sign for the summon to tell whatever it was that it was sent for, terribly hoping it wouldn't be something which would have him drowning deep in more stress.

The small brown canine nodded at seeing the Hokage composed enough to receive the news. "He told me to tell you, he's found _him._" He said to which he saw the aged lines on the man's visage threaten to disappear.

Sarutobi didn't need to be told twice as he closed his eyes and looked at the canine summon "Is he certain that it is Naruto?" he asked still feeling and fearing uncertainty and a false alarm.

"Hai, he is in Nami no Kuni. Kakashi will be waiting for the team there."

"Alright then, I will send three ANBU squads led by Tenzou there. Tell Kakashi to wait for them at a designated spot and scope the area for him, they will arrive in two days to begin the search."

With a sharp nod and acknowledging grunt Pakkun dispersed in a cloud of smoke.

Sarutobi felt hope slowly crawling into his heart as he ruthlessly began stamping at documents. Just maybe, maybe this time they would finally bring Naruto back.

* * *

Naruto closed the door to the Inn where he was staying as he exited. He was wearing his usual attire and his scarf was covering his face as always as he walked down the street. It was a beautiful morning, the sun was smiling down on him in bright rays and Naruto was soaking it up with contentment on his face.

As he walked he felt a very familiar and well-hidden Chakra signature trailing behind him, hiding somewhere in the bushes. The person's level of stealth was nothing to scoff at, ANBU level if Naruto's sensory skills were up to par as he thought they were. Naruto smiled as he determined the identity of the presence stalking him, their Chakra was a give-away, two natures, wind and water, there was only one person he knew of that had those characteristics.

He changed directions, walking into the lush forest with a sedate pace. The person's Chakra disappeared as Naruto disappeared into the forest and he sighed.

After walking for a few more minutes he found himself on a wide clearing with soft green grass. He plopped himself to the ground and looked up.

"You can come out now" Naruto said abruptly.

When his statement was met with stark silence he sighed "I won't hurt you Haku" he repressed a smile when he felt the presence's Chakra flare up violently.

A few scant seconds later, Haku emerged from her hiding place. She was clad in a dark brown pinstriped outfit which went to her knees and over it she wore a Haori which seemed like a mixture of blue and green tied with a long brown sash at the waist that tailed her back. She was also wearing a hunter-nin mask with small horizontal, curved slits for eye-holes and red flame like designs around the mouth. Startling enough but also serving as a measure of confirmation was the Kiri symbol etched to the hunter mask. Noticeably also to Naruto was her long hair, which was made into a bun, with two long locks of hair that framed her face and was bound with metal folds around it. At her feet, she wore light brown, high sandals with green-bluish straps.

From how she was dressed Naruto surmised it was to portray herself as a male, which somehow confused him.

Naruto's face held a repose expression on it but from the way his face was lightly stretched Haku assumed that he was smiling behind his scarf as she walked toward him. Naruto just kept the smile behind his mask even at the sight of the hidden Senbon needle under Haku's sleeve.

"Take a seat…" he motioned to the ground and watched as she did so ever so hesitantly. She lowered herself into a sitting position, which after she did so she stared at Naruto emotionlessly with her mask still on. "So, nice day huh" Naruto said casually.

Haku raised an eyebrow at the casual manner with which the blond spoke and what he spoke about. It was the last thing she was expecting him to say. She still kept her guard up though, for all she knew he could be egging her on with his friendliness to make her drop her guard. "Yes…" she responded tensely.

Naruto stared her up, his gaze lingering on her mask scrutinizingly and making her raise her hand to take it off. Naruto raised his own hand to stop her and immediately when he touched her arm, Haku reacted, unpredictably. With quick reflexes Naruto found himself pinned to the ground with Haku straddling him and a cold Senbon pressed to his neck and digging into his skin a little while Haku's remaining hand was holding him by his neck.

Her eyes had turned cold and she was glaring dangerously down at him. "Who are you? Who sent you and what are your intentions with me" she fired rapid questions up at him with a cold tone.

Naruto looked up at her, both of them still not quite registering the embarrassing position they were in due to how tense the air was. "I-I…have…none…" he heaved, his sentence coming out broken and barely hard to decipher with how hard she was choking him. She loosened her tight grip by a little margin to allow him to speak "I...I just simply want to get to know you." That response surprised Haku but she kept her Senbon pressed to Naruto's neck and maintained her firm grip on his neck.

'_For what reason? What are you after?'_ she thought with utter confusion, but against her better judgement she didn't ask. The blond seemed sincere in his answers "If you are lying to me I will kill you right now." she said coldly, her icy tone proving how serious she was.

Naruto groaned in an effort to answer "If I ever meant to harm you I would've done so already, look under your chest" Haku did as he asked and shifted her eyes to her chest only for them to widen at the sight of a pointed mechanical arm holding a black blade to her stomach.

A short silence washed over the two as they stayed in the same position and Haku was surprised to hear feel the light pressure on her chest disappear and an odd look appear in Naruto's eyes as he turned his head away from her, gazing into the distance. She didn't know why but he seemed embarrassed for some reason.

"I know how it feels like" she gazed up at him confusedly ", to hide under a mask" he said softly, his statement making Haku's eyes widen before she narrowed them.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked with her eyes narrowed down at the blond oddly.

"Your eyes…" he said with a low tone as he returned his gaze to meet hers. "Eyes that show a hollow past, filled with loneliness and sadness." Haku looked at Naruto's face, being unable to detect any traces of lying or deception from him as she did so.

Haku's brown bangs fell over her face, casting a shadow over her eyes as it did so. Without speaking she withdrew the Senbon from Naruto's neck and stood up with an unrecognizable look in her eyes. "I don't know what you are talking about Naruto-san." she whispered slowly and quietly as she stowed away her Senbon needle.

The wind blew between the two, causing leaves to fly around them as Naruto stood up.

"Yes you do." He said somewhat strongly, drawing surprised look out of her again "You wear that mask to hide those eyes, to hide your loneliness, the pain and the rejection from the world. I can see it." He proclaimed boldly with a hypnotizing seriousness about him that surprised Haku and also made her resolve falter.

"What exactly do you want from me?" she asked coldly with her voice threatening to break up and frustration slowly building on her masked face.

She was surprised when she saw him gain a forlornly look in his eyes as he stared up into the skies. His hands went to his long scarf as he pulled it down, much to her concealed surprise before returning his eyes to hers with a determined look in them. "To be your friend" Naruto said warmly as he offered her his hand, a bright, warm smile spreading over on his face, one which he hadn't given in years.

* * *

_To be continued… _

* * *

**Translations**

**Hirumaru - Money Leech (I came up with it myself, I'm bad huh. Not sure that's only what it means though)**

* * *

**This chapter was longer, 21 000+ words longer but I felt it would be better to cut it off right here and then turn it into two chapters. I don't like overly long chapters and they get tiring and monotonous even if they are good and I felt this one would be the same. I hope you understand… **

**Well, that's it; earnestly hope you enjoyed it (despite the lack of action) and that you will review. **

**Some of you have told me that there's honestly no problem at all with my writing and I am glad to hear that, but I still get that nagging feeling that it isn't good enough. I don't know if maybe I'm just being insecure and self-deprecating myself but well, I'm just that person. I'm never satisfied with everything I do and I often undervalue my work but the important thing is I do try.**

**I don't know when the next update will be (after I post the continuation of this chapter) cause my mind has a mind of its own (*ha that's funny*) and I could wake up in the middle of the night and start typing away furiously but don't check back until after two weeks, unless it's only to PM me or whatever. Also I have noticed that quite a high number of you check out my profile every day and I will try to put something of noteworthy there I hope, specifically tips. **

**Nonetheless, if you are dissatisfied with this chapter PM me and as I always say, "I respond lightning fast". If there is a similar issue raised by several people, I will answer it at the beginning of my next chapter to avoid having to type out the same message to everyone. **

**Anyway, please try out my other stories, and watch out for my next new one. I assure you it's going to be blast. My first crossover was published just less than 2 weeks ago and so far it has received startling praise and a horde of reviews and favs/follows, which make me wonder about the fans of this story and their love. **

**The immortal out… **


	13. Burning Desires and Precious people

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

"**A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom." Bob Dylan.**

**Not much to say, except read and review I guess. If you can favourite and follow it, then you can review it. Following a story and adding it to your favourite list means there must be some aspect about it that you like. At the rate this story is going it should be getting at least twenty reviews a chapter, but it barely scratches that number. I will give up trying to give you reasons to review after this chapter now…I guess you'd rather save them for someone more deserving than poor old me.**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Burning desires and Precious people**

* * *

**(Zabuza's hideout)**

"You certainly took your time." Zabuza commented dryly, his gruff voice echoing throughout the walls of the room as Haku walked in. The man was facing the ground, sweat dripping down his body in large beads as he pushed himself up and down. His biceps flexed excessively while he offered an occasional wince from the bearing pain his efforts brought his not yet recovered body.

"I'm sorry." Haku said simply to the man as she moved past him, staring at the discarded bandages on the ground with a solemn stare.

Zabuza sighed as he stopped his activity momentarily, rubbing at his face as he spoke, "Don't apologize, what about this person of yours? Will they be a threat?" he asked, driving his gaze toward her momentarily as he halted his arduous activity.

Haku didn't hesitate even for one second as she moved to answer, "No…the threat has been nullified." She said flatly.

The dark-haired Jounin smirked behind his mask at that. It was good music to his ears. "Good, I knew I could depend on you Haku." when she didn't give a response the man frowned, "What's wrong? You seem a bit different?" Zabuza queried her, noting how she seemed less talkative than usual. He knew she hated killing but he wasn't sure she would be disturbed with killing one of Yagura's men. He had expected her to say 'all for you Zabuza' or some of the statements she usually said after having to do something terrible in his name.

She merely shook her head in the negative, "I am fine Zabuza-sama. If you will excuse me I have to rest, it's been a tiring day." The man gruffly grunted his approval to her and watched her a while longer as she turned her back and left him to his thoughts.

Whatever it was, he just hoped she would be over it soon, before they had to face Kakashi and his Genin.

* * *

**(The Next Day)**

Naruto and Haku stood some feet away from a beautiful ravine which had a waterfall cutting through it and falling down to the awaiting sea below. Haku was clad in a black kimono with pink snowfall flowery decoration, and secured by a blue obi. "My mother and I were from a clan of Kekkei Genkai holders and as such my mother decided to hide her abilities and moved to a small village located in the land of water. Eventually she fell in love when she met my father and they had me." Naruto listened on entranced by the girl's story yet saddened by how painful recalling her forgotten memories must have made her. She was staring dazedly at the waterfall, absently caressing a small bird perched on her shoulder.

She smiled somewhat bittersweetly as she continued, "We lived our lives as simple civilians, poor yet our days were full of laughter and contentment. Until that day..." she trailed off, her eyes glossing over as she mentally recalled a particularly uncomfortable memory if her snaking of her arms around herself was anything to go by.

"It's okay; you don't have to say it anymore if you don't want to." Naruto said as he hesitantly reached with his hand to give her an awkward squeeze of the shoulder, which seemed to surprise her yet also serve to calm her slightly, although she had this very empty stare in her brown orbs.

Haku smiled at Naruto whose face was out in the open as he had come without his scarf, her face displaying her appreciation at his words. However she was strong and she somehow felt like she had to. There was this compelling feeling that told her to confide in the blond, something which was much to her surprise. She was used to dealing with her troubles and keeping them locked tightly within her heart. She never even spoke to Zabuza about her past, but here she was, spilling all about her past life to the blond who was a stranger in all but motives.

She felt a deep connection with Naruto, whether it is because of their similar pasts and how he seemed to understand or her finally dulling and falling to her emotions, a factor her master would greatly disprove of. She honestly had no idea why she even was here, but there was just something about the blond, something endearing and warm despite how he sometimes portrayed himself as cold. His kind and bright persona was surprising at best and terrifying at worst, but it was similar to her own. They shared many similar traits, with the only difference being in that Naruto often spoke what was on his mind far too easily, and wasn't afraid of speaking the truth. It seemed he hated covert speech and tried to avoid it whenever he could and she somehow admired that about him however for Shinobi it was very dangerous.

Still, she felt a wave of relief and the weight on her shoulders lift with every word and event about her past that she mustered. She gave the blond a thankful smile with her face displaying some rare show of pensive sadness, "It's alright. I can handle it." And indeed she could. She handled it for years, even if it had been gnawing away at her on the inside.

"One day, my father discovered I had a Kekkei Genkai after seeing me doing something with my abilities, which I had discovered by accident. My mother had been the first to see me and she scolded me and told me never to do it again." Naruto's brows wrinkled confusedly at that. Wasn't that a good thing? Wasn't her mother supposed to rather show pride at her achievements instead of frowning upon her actions? Regardless, he waited to hear of what she would say next.

"However it did not matter because my father had already seen us." A light frown aligned her brows as she brought her hands forward, cupping her palms together before a white haze appeared within them, transforming into a small bunny made of ice within her palms.

Naruto marvelled at the purely crystalized water with an awe-filled stare, "Can I?" He asked and she handed him the small bunny with a somewhat unreadable look in her eyes as she fixated them on it. It was almost a depreciative look at the sight of her creation but Naruto could not put the left nor the right of it, "You see, bloodlines in Mizu no Kuni are abhorred and thus then, because of this…_gift_ I have, my father murdered my mother..." Naruto immediately dropped the ice sculpture and looked at Haku who had a bitter, self-scornful look in her eyes.

His eyes were wide with a horrified expression, feeling his mouth threatening to part in his shock, "And he also tried to kill me but then my powers awakened and I killed my father." Her eyes just stared distantly ahead with the look of impenetrable blankness in them growing a few shades darker. "After that I was alone. I felt tainted and I was unwanted by no one. I-oomph." Haku visibly tensed when she felt Naruto crush her into a hug. Her eyes went wide with shock and her body seized to function.

_'How could he be hugging me, with what I just told him? Can he not see that I am a stain on mankind? One born with inhuman abilities that are only good for killing?'_ Haku thought with shock as she could not wrap her mind around what went on in Naruto's head. She had expected that he would hate her, same as every other person in Kiri. Bloodline holders were after all feared and hated, and regarded as not being human. So why?

"I understand how that feels like. To be feared, despised and shunned simply because you are different," Naruto's voice whispered softly into her ear as he kept his arms wrapped around her form tightly, his warm breath brushing against her exposed neck. She just stood there, frozen and unmoving as Naruto did not let go, "I know how painful it must've felt, but don't think for one second that I would hate you for something like that or that you have a bloodline. It's a gift given to you and you must appreciate it." Naruto gave a dry chuckle as he unconsciously rubbed her back soothingly. "My father is a bastard too you know, so don't feel bad. He put a Bijuu within my gut and when I meet him, I probably will kill him too…" he said jokingly to lift off the mood, ignoring the flinch Haku gave him when he mentioned the Bijuu part.

Haku's hands twitched slowly, and Naruto was surprised to feel her warm hands wrap around his slowly yet awkwardly while moving lightly more into the hug. "I'm sorry Naruto-san." She said with a sorrowful voice, and Naruto just chuckled, his soft laughter and vibrating chest slightly vibrating against Haku's own figure.

"Please Haku; you can stop calling me that. It sounds so formal." Naruto said, remarking in his head that he was somehow seeping back into his old self and discarding whatever angst he felt as being so close to Haku brought a strange sense of contentment from him.

Haku sighed as a small smile stretched across her lips as her face rested on Naruto's shoulder while she stared ahead, enjoying how soft and warm his skin felt against hers and how his aura just seemed to engulf her in a sea of warmth. "Can I call you Naruto then?" she asked innocently and felt as he nodded his head along the side of her neck.

Naruto's form vibrated against hers as he chuckled happily, "Yeah that sounds better, Haku."

She slowly nodded as she unwrapped herself from the embrace to look at the blond. She had to go back to the hideout now, despite how she desperately wished she could stay a while longer. However she had much to digest and a ton for her mind to actively chew and mull over, such as Naruto's confession about being a Jinchuuriki and what had transpired with them. Were they friends, acquaintances or something in between? Or were they lost souls who did not fit the norms set by humanity and who found solace within another, away from the painful rejection and loneliness? It was a bit confusing to her and the thoughts had plagued her mind for the rest of her day.

"I must be leaving now Naruto, I wish I could stay longer. Your company is strangely enjoyable." She said with a sincere smile on her face, apparent hesitation clear within her brown orbs.

Naruto understood that eventually this moment would end and nodded his concurrence to her as he felt famished himself, "So can I see you again tomorrow Haku." A pensive flicker of doubt appeared in her eyes making him at his sincere request, drawing Naruto to continue with a solemn look in his eyes, "That's if you won't be busy or anything"

Haku thought it over seriously. Would it hurt to see and spend another day with the blond? Already she felt better from just conversing with him and truthfully she also wished to see him also. The trouble could be presented in the form of her master but if she just maintained her act and do her duties as if nothing was wrong, then Zabuza wouldn't suspect her random outings, "Alright I will then. I will see you tomorrow Naruto." She proclaimed to which the blonde's eyes lit up and he nodded with an easy grin that just made him all the more handsome. Where that thought came from she had neither an idea nor any interest of finding out.

She began walking away, while Naruto stood on the clearing unmoving while he stared at her, remarking within his mind that she walked somewhat differently. She glanced behind to see him still looking at her, only to smile and continue on before her form was absorbed by the trees.

Naruto smiled warmly, for some unfathomable reason he looked greatly forward toward seeing Haku again. The feeling made him smile even deeper.

The smile on Naruto's face fell off immediately as he remembered something that Hotaru had randomly rambled about in the past. Naruto's head fell as he smacked himself with a palm in his deceased sister's stead, a groan escaping his lips, "Naruto you idiot…" He began walking, slowly dragging his feet across the ground, feeling embarrassed and disappointed with himself over forgetting such a very basic rule, "Why didn't you walk her home?" he asked himself with a dry tone in his voice.

* * *

Haku walked calmly toward the designated spot she had promised to meet Naruto. She was surprised at herself for coming because the situation could very well become dangerous for her and Zabuza and their mission but she just felt something compelling her to come and so she did. After she had left yesterday from her _talk _with Naruto, she couldn't stop thinking about the prospect of a possible friendship with him. They were both victims of the scorn and hatred of others and understood one another. It was normal but still was it safe to be sneaking out like this to talk to this strange boy?

If Zabuza found out he would be greatly displeased and she didn't want to get Naruto in trouble with the man. Perhaps it was curiosity that brought her back here and as they say curiosity killed the cat and she wondered if that would be the same result with her and wanting to learn more about Naruto.

She soon dismissed her thoughts as she arrived to a grassy clearing, seeing Naruto balancing himself against a tree with his eyes closed. She smiled when she saw his eyes flutter open, meaning he had sensed her arrival. It sometimes amazed her how sharp his senses were and she wondered how strong he actually was but from the way he held himself she knew he was very strong. She was slightly sad that he had covered his face today as she liked seeing his face, but supposed that was his choice and that perhaps it held some sort of emotional significance to him.

"Hello Naruto." She greeted warmly, the lingering awkwardness she had felt around him all but abolished.

"Haku, how are you doing?" he acknowledged with a nod and a smile.

"I'm well thank you and yourself?" She said as she lowered herself onto the thin layer of grass on the expanse of ground surrounding them, finding a means to balance herself against the tree behind them.

"I'm great. I brought something today." Naruto said as he reached up and pulled out a large basket from above him, which was hung on a loose low branch. He opened it, and Haku's eyes widened at the sight of various wrappings filled with all kinds of food and neatly folded and organised into the basket. The food varied from countless sticks of Dango, a few Onigiri, fish and soup held in a small roundish box and even some Tamagoyaki wrapped up and neatly shuffled into the basket.

Haku looked at the blond with a look of surprise on her face, "Naruto, where did you get all this? It must be expensive."

"I bought the ingredients myself from another village and I made them. I keep them in preservative sealing scrolls." He said casually with a smile before pulling out a small rice ball and offering it to her, "try one" she looked at him with a look that he struggled to read before her eyes moved to the small rice ball in his hand.

She stretched her hand and hesitantly took it and took a small delicate bite and her face lit up with delight, "These are…good" she took another bite, savouring the sensational mouth-watering taste that tingled her taste buds.

Naruto only seemed to beam at that. It was strange but he found himself smiling more and more around Haku, even though what they spoke about most of the time were rather unsavoury subjects, he still enjoyed her company greatly. They connected on a level deeper than most because of their rather spoiled and lonely pasts. Even though Haku didn't smile as much as he would've liked her to, he appreciated the rare ones which he got to see. "Thanks, but it took years of practice." he said as he grabbed one for himself, taking a bite.

She looked at him as she asked, "Who taught you how to cook Naruto?"

A proud smile came upon his face as he responded, "I taught myself." He proclaimed with a proud look on his face, his statement seemingly surprising her before she went strangely quiet.

After a short moment of comfortable silence Haku looked at Naruto's covered face, "Naruto-kun, do you have any precious people?" She asked with a soft, polite tone while examining him with an expectant stare. Her face held a very surprising expression filled with a lot of interest and curiosity regarding his answer to the subject she had just broached if her full attention was anything to go by.

Naruto swallowed before staring up at her inquisitively, "You mean the people I care about, correct?" he asked with a questioning glint in his shaded rippled eyes.

"Hai, precisely." She nodded simply, as she seemed interested more in his answer now, drawing Naruto to adopt at a semi-serious look.

Naruto's eyes gained a somewhat sad gleam within them, "No, they were all killed and I couldn't even protect them. This man called Danzo was after me discovered where I lived after I ran away from Konoha. I remember it like it was yesterday, I was training when I heard the scream of Hotaru, my sister." A scowl came upon his face as he recalled the event, "When I ran to find out what was going on I found that one of Danzo's men had taken her hostage and Danzo threatened to kill her unless I come with him." Unconsciously his fist tightened as he gripped a handful of grass hardly with his hand, a self-deprecating look appearing on his face "I was so weak then I despise myself, but I decided to sacrifice myself in the hopes that he would leave my family alone."

He sighed as he looked up, trying to ward off the negativity and pain from his system. After all it was no use clinging on to what couldn't be changed and the past was such an event, unchangeable and brutally hard to cast aside, "However he simply killed her despite me giving myself up. I was weak. I had all this power but I couldn't do anything with it." He sunk into the bark of the tree behind him, slowly pulling down the red scarf from his face which he had forgotten to leave, bringing it with him on instinct from being used to having it on his face.

Haku gazed into the distance, her narrowed eyes conveying her genuine empathy. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stir up any bad memories." She was surprised when Naruto just gave a low wry laugh, his voice sounding a bit lighter without the cloth muffling his voice.

"It's okay, in my rage I killed the ones who did it though but even then I was left merely a broken shell. Lonely and without purpose, it was the most painful feeling I've ever felt" that made her eyes narrow as she shifted her gaze back unto his only to see sadness etched in his eyes.

She stopped herself from saying what she was going to instinctively say before her eyes took on a look of reassurance, "Yes but you grew stronger from that." She said as she scooted closer to him, absently putting a comforting hand on his chest and staring at him directly in the eye, "The need to protect them made you strong in heart and you had the courage to give yourself up because they were precious to you, you Naruto-kun are strong." Haku removed her hand from Naruto's chest with a blush. The feeling of the blonde's well-built physique stamped in her head and making blood rush to her face.

Naruto gave her an appreciative smile and letting his gaze linger on hers as he did so, "Thanks Haku. That really gives me strength." He said with a smile, "Who knows, maybe I'll find some more precious people, like you." He said without much thought but Haku could feel he meant it and that somehow made her feel warmth threaten to explode on her cheeks.

She nodded awkwardly as she felt she would struggle to form a coherent sentence and the two ate in warm comfortable silence, occasionally smiling at each other or stealing glances at the other when they thought they weren't looking.

Naruto gave a content sigh as he ate his meal in comfortable silence along with Haku. There was just something about the atmosphere and being around Haku that just seemed to calm him down and get him to smile a bit more, an action he had slowly lost after years of isolation and extroverted activities. He just didn't know what compelled him to try and get to know her more, and he couldn't just chalk it up to their shared painful pasts but he had just done it. Although in his rational thought he knew that something about Haku was amiss, such as her reason for being in Nami or even her strange friend, he didn't want to intrude on her personal space and believed she would tell him whatever it was when she was ready.

After minutes of the two were staring into the distance around them, lost in their thoughts while occasionally grabbing another rice ball, Tamagoyaki or Dango stick. Both Naruto and Haku absently reached into the bowl without looking. Haku grabbed a ball of rice before Naruto only to freeze when she felt his hand grasp hers inside the bowl. Haku felt warmth spread over her face upon feeling the warm and gentle contact of Naruto's hand. Tentatively she raised her eyes to meet his and she found him looking at her with a look she couldn't quite comprehend. She felt her heart pound so hard it felt like it was going to burst from her chest. His hand was still on hers, still having not let go or quite incapable of doing so as the two were frozen in time amongst the sea of green grass surrounding them.

"I-is something the matter Naruto?" Haku asked nervously her eyes barely on Naruto's for a reason she couldn't fathom.

That seemed to snap him out of his daze and she felt the warmth disappear from her hand as he finally let go much to her relief. However for some strange reason unknown to her, she found herself already missing the warm feeling it had brought.

Naruto scratched the back of his head as he gave a forced smile which Haku easily saw through "No, nothing's wrong Haku" he said before he stood up abruptly "You can have that" Haku snapped herself out of her reverie, looking at the rice ball still in her hand.

"No you're the one who made these so you must have it." Haku said as she held it up to him.

"No you can help yourself, I'm trying to be the gentleman here." Naruto said as he tried to rid the awkward atmosphere, his hand absently scratching the back of his head, "you can even take the rest with you home and give to your injured friend, I'm sure they'd appreciate it."

"If it is alright with you then." She said simply before taking calm bite.

Naruto dusted himself off with his hands, his eyes strangely unfocussed, his sudden movements surprising and perplexing Haku who stared up at him, "Alright I'll see you tomorrow then Haku-chan." He said as he turned and left the clearing.

Haku watched as the boy disappeared behind a flock of trees. She was slightly surprised at his abrupt departure and behaviour. Also that look that he had given her earlier, filled with emotions she couldn't discern and the way his eyes shone with a glow that just seemed to enchant and reel her in. His gaze somehow ignited a burning feeling in the pit of her stomach and Haku didn't know what it all meant but she knew that she was attracted to Naruto now.

It was what kept her coming back and seeing him day after day. She was interested in him, the brief thought of being involved with him crossed her mind daily but she squashed it because of what she does and the fact that she didn't stay at one place for a long time.

She had seen it in Naruto's eyes, something might have happened between them a few moments ago and she didn't know if she could've stopped it or not and she wasn't even sure she would've attempted to stop it. She knew about attraction, sex and things such as love. After all, working with Zabuza one had to know of the compromising situations all Kunoichi found themselves on mission where they were captured. There had been missions where she had to utilise her feminism to seduce a target and capture them, but that was work and this was something else, feelings were actually involved and she could only ask herself one question. _'Am I falling for you, Naruto-kun?'_ and if so then…

Fate was against them, more so against Naruto. He had fallen for the wrong person, someone whose life belonged to another.

* * *

Naruto's mind raged with thoughts and his heart was in turmoil as he walked down the streets of Nami. He wasn't even sure where he was walking but he just needed to find somewhere where he could sit and contemplate things with a calm head. _'What the hell? For some reason I wanted…' _he thought confusedly as he stopped in the middle of the dirt path with an unfocused, yearning haze in his eyes. _'I wanted to kiss Haku.' _

He was broken from his musings when he heard the sound of loud voices reach his ears. He walked toward the direction of the loud murmurings and wails, noting how many of the people on the streets had stopped and were all looking at an event taking place. Out of curiosity Naruto kept walking toward where he could feel the voices coming from, noticing a large crowd forming a large circle of motionless bystanders which was clearly observing some kind of event taking place.

He disappeared into the mass of bodies, softly pushing himself through with a few words of warning to alert those aside and in front him of his impending before he came to a stop as the rows of people finally gave way to his destination. His line of sight was drawn to the sight of two men wielding swords, an old man and his wife whom Naruto recognised as his Inn keeper, were kneeling on the ground with slight bruises on their form and a girl of about sixteen who held a resemblance to the two was being held and calloused by one of the thugs.

"I told you old man, I want the money. Its either you pay up or we take this sweet little thing. I'm sure we'll find some _use_ for her…" the man grinned as he looked back at his comrade who held the girl in his firm grip.

The aged man clutched at the thug's clothing helplessly, trying to plead his case, "Please I beg of you. My wife and I have nothing to offer you; please just don't take my daughter away please." The aged man was furiously murmuring his humble requests, his fear of losing his daughter reducing him to a shaming state. However what was it that he could do, they had knocked on his door, demanding he pay them. It was not to say he owed anything per say, however this was a common occurrence within Nami.

Gatou's thugs were regular bullies and they would collect taxes from them at their leisure, or raid their houses for anything of worth simply because they can. People were used to seeing this sort of thing and thus, it was why no one was helping. Everyone had been a victim of their actions and no one; even he himself would raise a hand to help another family as they were embarrassed and stripped off of their bare earnings.

Gatou's thugs abused their power, because no one could stand up to them or defend against their attacks and today, he was the victim of those random attacks.

"Feh, pitiful…" He said as he shoved the man from him with a scowl, "Take the girl away." He said to his partner who slung the girl over his shoulder with a little effort as she fought him.

"No please no." The poor woman said as she tried to stand up to stop the two goons. She took hold of the man, biting his hand harshly much to her husband's shock. The man let out a pained scream before he drove the woman back to her knees with a harsh slap for her troubles.

The man growled as he glared at the old woman while nursing his bleeding hand, "Old bitch…I'm gonna teach you a lesson." The man sneered as he brought his hand down for another slap only for it to be stopped by a firm hand and when he looked up he found himself eye to eye with Naruto's stern rippled eyed gaze.

"I've seen enough." Naruto said as he glared at the duo intensely. The air grew grim as the whole street's focus was zoned in on the dramatic turn of events.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll let go of me kid." The man said with a vicious and arrogant sneer on his face.

"Let the girl go." Naruto said as he ignored the man's statement completely, looking at his companion with cold stern eyes.

Hirumaru seemed aggravated at Naruto's disregard of his presence and threat as he glared at the blond, "Hey, don't ignore me you little pun-argh." He screamed painfully as Naruto crushed his hand with his own.

"I won't repeat myself again. Let her go now, you have five seconds or I'm going to kill this man." Various gasps were heard coming from the crowd at that as they flew into a flurry of quite mutterings about the danger Naruto had now plunged himself into.

The other goon at the back seemed to sense the murderous aura coming off of the blond, "Hirumaru, I think we should go." He said as he got the urge that the blond was dangerous, his primal instincts urging him to leave before something bad happened.

"No we're gonna teach this punk a lesson and some manners. It seems he doesn't know who runs the show round here." With an evil grin the goon reached for his sword. Pulling it out with one swift movement he brought it down on Naruto with his sole remaining hand, "Die you fucking punk!" He shouted as his blade drew closer to Naruto who just stood there, his hand still retraining the man's left hand.

Naruto let go of the man's hand before with fluid movements and lightning speed movements he whipped a black rod into his hand and with a backward slap of his wrist he swatted the man's weapon away. Hirumaru's eyes widened in horror and he looked up to see Naruto glaring at him with murderous eyes. "No, wait please..." Naruto plunged the blade straight through the man's torso before he could even do anything and despite his plea. His comrade's eyes widened in horror as the man dropped to the ground with wide eyes and blood gushing down his neck.

A loud gasp escaped from the entire crowd as the man went to the ground with a dull loud thudding noise.

"Now I believe I told you to let her go." Naruto repeated coldly.

The man let go of the teenage girl who ran into the hands of her mother while the goon scrambled back in fear of meeting the same fate, falling to his feet as he helplessly attempted to back away from Naruto who simply stalked closer to his position. He found himself frozen in fear and could feel a crushing weight restricting his movements at the look in Naruto's eyes.

He shivered in fear as he foresaw his death slowly approaching him with every step Naruto took toward him. "You don't know who you're dealing with. MY BOSS WILL COME. HE'LL KILL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. HE'LL KILL YO-Ungh." Naruto plunged a Chakra rod through the man's chest, watching through cold eyes as he rasped for breath before slumping to the ground with a loud plop, his eyes wide and staring up at Naruto.

"Gatou won't be killing anyone when I'm finally done with him." Naruto said to the dying man with a voice filled with intense anger, his statement being the last thing the goon would hear. Naruto turned around to see all the people looking at him.

"Young man, while I appreciate what you did, invoking Gatou's wrath is not very wise. Now he'll hunt you down." The aged man who had been on the ground begging said as he came up to Naruto, his voice carrying with it his worry.

"Don't be hard on him Giichi. He saved us; he saved our little girl, not once now but twice." Agari who was Naruto's Innkeeper and who was rubbing the cut on her lip from the harsh slap she had been dealt by the deceased Hirumaru said to the man who still appeared apprehensive.

Naruto turned to look at the aged man, "I did what I did, because you were too cowardly to defend your family." He said harshly, drawing a wince and a shameful look from the Giichi's face. "In fact..." Naruto turned around to gaze at the rest of the crowd, some of whom flinched at his stern posture and gaze, despite his age, "I did what you're all afraid of doing, I defied this monster you all fear." He proclaimed with a loud voice, all those in the crowd bowing their heads at his words.

"You're all just cowards, seeking refuge and living with a false sense of contentment while all this nonsense goes on around. I didn't do this simply because, there are children starving here, living on barely a drop of rice a day and all you're concerned about is living to see another day?" His voice rose as he glared at the masses before him with his penetrating ripple eyed gaze as his eyes came visible momentarily, with only his right eye visible from two parting blond fringes over his eyes, "You all whine and complain about Gatou but you won't do anything. How can you expect things to change if you just sit by and do nothing huh? When you just let a stranger waltz into your country and take it hostage, draining it off of everything. If you want freedom or change, you're going to have to stand up for it." He asked as his hands flailed around as he made angry gestures.

A random aged man in the background spoke, "Young man, we are merely civilians. There is nothing we can do. Gatou has Shinobi and Samurai who work for him. If we try to fight, they will destroy us all." He said, his statement drawing various concurring nods from his fellow neighbours and citizens.

"You don't need to fight to defeat Gatou to take back your country. All you have to do is support the bridge builder. He is one of you, simply one man but look at the courage he has to defy Gatou. Don't you think he worries about his family too? About dying?" He asked them, with many heads hanging in shame once more at his words, "It's time you stand up and take your country back for yourself." Naruto spoke as he tried to inspire defiance within the people.

An old man in his sixties approached the blond, stopping before Naruto and looking at him with a smile "Young man, I've lived for a long time before Gatou came here and long after his reign of terror struck this country but in all of that time, I've only seen one man with guts like yours. He was a good man and died for this country and we let his sacrifice be in vain because of our fear of being executed. But no more, Kaiza was one man and look how he was able to rattle ol' Gatou's socks. Imagine if all of us were to defy Gatou. Can he execute us all? Can he subdue us if we all put our arms together and say off with him? No he certainly can't" the wizened old man said with an intent filled gaze in his eyes, his aged but equally hard eyes alit with a blazing inferno and igniting diminished ones within those gathered around.

"I'd rather die for my freedom than endure more of this!" A man in his forties suddenly declared loudly as he stepped forward.

"Me too!" another voice came from within the crowd.

"As well as I!" Another soft womanly voice came from another of the civilians, drawing several murmuring and chattering as many proclaimed their intent.

"FOR NAMI NO KUNI!" one young man shouted as he raised his fist and excitedly pumped it into the air.

"FOR NAMI NO KUNIIII!" the rest of the citizens all shouted out in unison and wild chattering and chanting broke out, bringing a smile to Naruto's face as he felt the burning desire and atmosphere engulf the crowd, their fighting spirits stoked up and burning wildly.

Ah yes, anarchy was far too easy to usher or inspire. Just give man a shared goal, a shared desire. Promise a man freedom, bread, homes and they would gladly plunge the world into chaos. They would oppose a monster, the devil himself or even a god if they could because that was how they were; unruliness was the defining nature of mankind.

Hidden amongst the crowd was Haku who watched the events take place. She was wearing a long cloak that had on her head a hood which ensured she wasn't recognised, '_Naruto-kun, why?_' she thought to herself in worry as she disappeared in a body flicker of movement. Their goal was overtly clear, to take back their country…

* * *

Naruto walked down toward his Inn. His face was deep in thought and also what had just transpired. The people in Nami seemed ready and fired up, but his thought were on whether he was ready. Obviously he knew he might face some Shinobi whom Gatou might hire to get rid of him but he couldn't care about that. He had made a pledge, and would never go back on it, even if it costs him his life.

"You're a fool…" the sudden voice yanked him out of his thoughts and he looked toward the direction it came from to meet the sight of a spiky black-haired youth wearing a blue jumpsuit with a pale yellow shirt underneath who was glaring at him intensely over the corners of his eye, while half of him was obscured by a large tree bark.

"Excuse me?" Naruto asked the boy as who still stood behind the thick bark of the tree, balancing his back against it.

The boy moved from his position to stop before on the clear, sending a seeing glare at Naruto, "If you think Gatou can be defeated by a couple of people then you're even stupider than you look." The boy said as his voice rose slightly, "You don't know what you're up against, thinking you can take on Gatou. He'll annihilate you." The boy said with a scowl on his face.

Naruto frowned as he gazed at the boy with a questioning look in his eyes, "I'm sorry but are you talking to me?" he asked with a somewhat confused tone in his voice.

The boy just seemed to become irritated with his question, "I saw what you did there. You think you can just waltz in here with your techniques and change everything? You think you can play hero, you will just die." He said while Naruto's stare scrutinized his form and demeanour.

It didn't take Naruto long to figure out who the boy was. After all, he had been told of the story of his family and his father and Naruto somehow understood but it still didn't excuse his apparent rudeness. "I never had any intention of playing hero," Naruto began with a thoughtful look in his eyes, "If you haven't noticed this country needs a symbol of hope which I believe is the bridge, not a hero but if I can help inspire hope into these people and free this country then I guess I will be a hero." Naruto said as he smiled at the end while the black-haired youth stared at him with some surprise.

Naruto watched as the boy's visage twisted into an angry scowl, "You will just die. Gatou will kill you; he'll execute you in public like he did with…" the boy stopped himself and his gaze fell to the ground while his hands balled into tight fists.

Naruto asked with feigned interest, of course he knew of the person who Gatou had executed in public. Kaiza as the man was called was brave to the bone, willing to accept death than bow down to Gatou's demands and the man was apparently not even a citizen of Nami, "Like he did with whom exactly?" Naruto asked with a feigned curiosity.

He shook his head furiously as visible denial and anger alit on his face, "SHUT UP. I don't wanna see your stupid face again. Tough guy like you probably had it easy huh?" the boy said as his shoulders shook with raw emotions, "You woke up every single day in a loving family; you've never known the pain of being alone or seeing someone close to you die."

Naruto's eyes narrowed at that as the boy hit a sore spot, one which broke whatever calm Naruto was trying to maintain, "You're hopeless, weak little brat whining about how unfair life really is. You don't know how it is out there. You've probably been locked up in your home your whole life." Naruto said harshly as he glared at the young boy, "If you're going to whine, do it to someone who cares. You probably wouldn't even survive a day alone on the street."

Naruto reigned in his slight anger at the boy, and sighed as he softened his features and he gazed apologetically at the boy. "Kaiza understood that as long as we live and have the strength to do so, we should help others."

Naruto watched as the boy turned around and ran away with tears in his eyes.

* * *

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he sensed a presence in the house. He was lying on his bed, having just gone to sleep a few hours prior. With precise noiseless movements, he let a Chakra transmitter blade flare into his hands under the blanket he had over his form. He pretended to be asleep as he felt the Chakra signature edging closer and closer. He sensed no malicious intentions from them but he had to keep his guard up just in case.

Finally he felt a disturbance in his room as the person appeared in a noiseless body flicker inside his room. He felt their shadow over him, and surmised that they were staring down at him. Because the lights were dimmed he felt as their shadow descended toward him and with lightning reflexes Naruto shaped by years of harsh training, Naruto moved, unbelievably fast. He caught the assailant's hand before they could even realise with his own and flipped them onto his bed. He pressed on as he pinned them to his bed with his hands, straddling them tightly while his Chakra rod pointed murderously at their exposed neck.

Naruto glared at the figure who wore a mask. His senses were fuelled and adrenaline pumped through his body as battle instincts dominated the focus of his thoughts, "Tell me who you are and what you want or my face will be the last thing you see." Naruto whispered dangerously and threateningly with a low voice. The person just kept quiet, and Naruto was surprised to feel their form go lax beneath his own, as they ended their struggle. Whoever they were did not oppose to having him on top of them or perhaps they had died in some sort of bizarre circumstance, similar to with a suicide pill induced death. The moonlight briefly illuminated their face as it peered through his open window curtains, their porcelain mask casting a haunting image within his head.

The dark was making it difficult to see in the room but Naruto could see that the person's eyes were fixated upon his intently. He felt a wave of fear wash over him as he now felt the seeds of uncertainty blossom into thoughts of how familiar the person looked and wild guesses of who they might be assaulted his mind with the rapid motions of a stream. He reached down with his hand and let it hover over the assailant's mask, twitching it in doubt before he grasped it and slowly lifted it off, confirming his worst fears as he was met with the face of his friend, "H-Haku?" Naruto muttered with great surprise in his voice once he had pulled the figure's mask off. His heart beat erratically and loudly within his chest and he felt raw emotions seeping into his being as he gazed at the raven headed girl's shadowed visage, "What are you doing here and were you trying to kill me?" He uttered with great surprise and a little bit of hurt in his voice.

He couldn't see her face clearly but he could glimpse that she was somehow hurt by his question, "No Naruto-kun, I would never do that. I just…" she whispered softly at the end, her sad eyes refusing to meet his.

Naruto let the rod of Chakra disperse into nothingness while he eased the pressure he had on her, before he sat down beside her on his bed, "What is it? Tell me what you are doing in my room at this time of night?" he asked gently, still angry with her for what she did but with concern and confusion clear in his voice. The moonlight was now in direct view of his window, the dark clouds that had been covered by the veil of darkened clouds earlier on. The incandescent light washed over both their forms while Naruto waited for Haku's response.

"I need…" she whispered inaudibly with a soft voice that had a strange quality tone to it as she kept her eyes away from his, as she also moved herself up into a sitting position, not even bothering to fix her dishevelled clothing. Naruto noted that she wasn't wearing her normal Kiri Shinobi wear and had underneath her green Haori a light pink shirt. Her Haori's sash had come off and her form was exposed to the blond who tried his best not to look.

She was staring at him, intensely with eyes that unnerved him for reasons completely unknown to him. She wasn't trying to read him, in fact Naruto doubted thoughts were forming completely within her head. She seemed like a scatter of raw emotions. Her eyes shone in the light of the moon with untamed emotion and Naruto was confused.

"Speak up I can't hear yo-mmph." Naruto's eyes widened and his body froze in surprise at the sudden invasive feeling of Haku's lips wrapping against his in a fierce kiss. His surprise died down as she pulled him more into the heated kiss, pulling her body atop his own seated one and straddling him. Their bodies were flush against another's and Naruto could feel the heat radiating off of her, while her tongue begged his lips for entrance which Naruto found himself giving in much to his shock. Her lips were soft, wet, inviting and sent shocks of raw emotion to spread over his form. A haze of want filled his being but Naruto couldn't let himself.

Naruto pulled away from the kiss before it could progress any further, holding Haku away from himself by her shoulders as he looked at her while he drew long, laboured breaths, "Haku stop it, what's going on?" Naruto's eyes hardened with anger and concern simultaneously. He was confused about a lot of things, such as what could be making her do this but the problem lay in that he wanted more...more of Haku. It had been through sheer willpower that he had managed to pull himself together, but even now his resolve was crumbling. The raven-head just stared absently at his chest. Her response finally came in the form of wrapping her hands around the blonde's body and resting her head against his chest, a feeling that he found quite comfortable and warm as she listened to the rapid thundering of his heart.

"N-nothing, I just need this. I need you right now." She replied with a breathless voice which had deepened, albeit in a seductive manner which just seemed to cast a spell over Naruto's rational senses and thoughts. Naruto knew exactly to what 'this' meant and he was sure that he wanted it too, perhaps even more so than her.

"Haku…I-" Naruto began softly only to be cut off when she put a finger to his lips.

"Don't say anything. I need this, we both do. We live in a very dangerous world," she said as crawled further onto his form, her legs lining both sides of his waist. She stared at him with her big brown eyes which held a mixture of lust, love and a hint of sadness in them. Her eyes were so entrancing that Naruto found himself losing all means of rational and unhindered thought. Her brown orbs engulfed his light purple ones and they were full of yearning, coaxing him further as Naruto felt the walls crumble at the loving stare that she was serving him with. Her eyes begging for him and Naruto felt the burning fire within him alight anew as she cupped his face with her soft warm palm, "and if I were to die, I want to do so having shared this moment with you…"

There was something about that statement that worried Naruto but he found himself incapable of speaking as she leaned forward and brought her lips up to his, capturing his in another kiss, not equally as fierce but full of passion and true emotion. Both of them closed their eyes as their arms snaked around the other, pulling their forms flush against the other. It began softly enough, filled with love, inexperience and heartfelt emotion before it soon became heated; with the two assaulting each other with their tongues while Haku's low moans rung throughout the room.

Naruto was caught up between pleasure and worry. Part of him wanted to find out what was wrong with this girl. Haku looked as if she was broken or something akin to that. Her actions were filled with a desperate need to be wanted emotionally and sensually. This was all so sudden for him, but he couldn't deny he was enjoying it. He couldn't yet say he loved Haku, but he knew he held feelings for her and if this was what she wanted, then he would go along with it, for her.

The two found themselves lost in the heated moment. Their hands carelessly roamed over each other's' bodies while their tongues duelled calmly. Their clothes came off as they undid and discarded them with reckless abandon, unminding of where they threw them because they stood in the way of their lovemaking.

* * *

A half-naked Haku was sitting on Naruto's bed, wearing the blonde's shirt which barely reached to her hips and running her fingers through Naruto's long blond locks. She was staring at his peaceful face as he lay asleep and unmoving on her lap, brushing away the long bangs that fell over his face, accentuating his already handsome features.

A stray tear fell out of the corner of her eye, falling onto the face of Naruto's who didn't even move as it splashed against his face. Haku turned the blonde's head gently around; looking at the side of his neck where there was a Senbon was sticking out of his neck. She gave a weary sigh as she ran her hand through his hair once more, feeling his soft spiky hair as if it would be the last time she would do so. She slowly stood up, being careful as she did so, after which she tucked him under the covers of his bed, the steely needle still pricked into the soft vulnerable skin of his neckline.

She slowly wandered to the mess of clothing on the floor. She reached down for her own and put on her full garment with delicate and sedate motions. She breathed in the musky smell that Naruto's shirt gave. It was natural and it smelled, like Naruto. She wrapped her Haori over it and with a sad look in her eyes she grabbed her hunter-nin mask, hooking it to her waist while she stared at the motionless blond.

"I'm sorry; I wish things weren't as they were," she said as she tied the long brown sash around her waist, "Maybe, just maybe we would've been together Naruto-kun."

She walked back toward the bed, staring at Naruto's whiskered face, "I wish I didn't have to do this, but I can't let you get in Zabuza's way. This way, I'll be able to protect you both." her eyes gleamed with unshed tears while she struggled to smile without her lips quivering, "Thank you…for making me feel loved and…" she uttered with a wistful softness in her voice as she bent slightly and planted a chaste kiss on his forehead, letting her lips linger on there for a while with her bangs hiding her eyes and the fountain of tears crawling down her face. With her face still bowed, she lifted her hunter-nin mask onto her face before she stepped away from the blond with a visibly forced determination and hesitant steps.

A small pendant of crystalized ice formed within her palms which she sedately placed within Naruto's unmoving hand, its smooth, delicate yet sharp texture and cool feeling reminding her of herself.

A delicate tool to be used by her master for his protection. She was a weapon, cold and dangerous and not bound to know emotions and not allowed to be swayed to the whims of feelings and personal desires. She was merely Zabuza's blade, a tool which was even more reliable and with much more use than his Kubikiriboucho, a true Shinobi who only served and did not query her orders as a true Ninja should. She only had her purpose and master's dreams to protect and without Zabuza, she would have none, like an abandoned and broken tool which had no wielder or master to give it meaning and left to rust and decay in utter uselessness.

This was what frightened her the most, to exist without a meaningful reason or dream and because of that, she had betrayed Naruto's trust and their friendship, but partly to also protect him for these feelings she felt toward him were confusing her, creating a cluster of doubt within her one dimensional mind.

Naruto had taught her to think outside of what Zabuza driven into her head, however to be independent and think for oneself was not the actions of a tool and despite being adamant about her role in Zabuza's life, she found herself unconsciously thinking 'what if'. She crushed the thoughts just as quickly but it mattered not because they had slowly infiltrated into her mind like the seeds of doubt and despite what Haku led herself to belief she was, she knew she was still human and thus could never banish such things away as easily as one thought.

The first act had been lying to Zabuza, the very man who had saved her and given her life meaning, an action she had never believed she could truly be capable of and why had she done it? To protect Naruto, and this led to more lies in which she would sneak out at night, or whenever to come and see him. Her hope had been that perhaps Zabuza would allow Naruto to come with them but she knew how naïve that thought truly was, and as such she found herself torn between the only two precious people in her vague life. Zabuza who was her saviour and master, whom she would give anything, even her life to protect for he gave her meaningless life purpose and Naruto who had slowly scooted his way into a special place in her heart and with whom she shared several features, specifically and strikingly, similarly lonely pasts and childhoods.

"…I just hope you won't hate me for this Naruto-kun." She slowly disappeared into nothingness, leaving the blond lying on his bed in a deathlike state. A wet parch remaining behind from where she had stood and where her tears had fallen.

* * *

**Well, what do you think? Am I unpredictable or what? I just gave you two chapters in one day. Yeah, I know I'm great, let's leave it at that.**

**To those romance fans, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. **

**Anyway, the next chapter will contain a bunch of action and I hope that will get you action and battle fans excited. Just one thing though…don't expect it too soon. As I said in my previous endnote, my mind has a mind of its own and I normally try to begin my chapters on a day where I feel narrative and that my English is up to par I guess. **

**Well, ciaos, and remember to review…**

**Immortal out… **


	14. Impediments

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.**

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**I love putting notes at the beginning of the story, because I like to drabble and like my readers to know what I'm thinking about, what I'm feeling. It's my own identity, my personality but it's not to add to the word count, no I know that my chapters are long enough and they have been getting longer with each chapter. So when you see the Disturbed Immortal's notes, read them because I always have something to say and I'm not like most, who say they don't enjoy adding notes to their chapters. Everyone has their own preferences, I have mine…**

**Anyway, Story stats so far look good, and the follows have reached 600+ now. I'm quite proud to see this story being enjoyed by so many but I just wish I had...ah never mind, the cola and fries (chips) are here.**

**(*Munch*) The last chapter, chapter 12 (13 numerically) got 33 reviews, a record number of reviews for this story, but 11 (12 numerically) got only 6 because most reviewed both chapters with a single review, something which I expected to have happen. Otherwise thanks for the support and for all the lovely reviews I got, which unbelievably were all positive, except with the questions about Haku.**

**People were asking me (some even demanding, whom I regardlessly replied nicely back to) that I tell them whether I will kill her off.**

**Honestly let me tell you that you were putting a lot of stress on me, and I felt like a hundred thoughts racing through my head about what to do about Haku. I love the support and nothing brings me more joy than knowing that you enjoy my stories but the thing is, I think about so many things all the time and looking at Naruto in TOWSH, your questions truly and nearly threw me off the path I was trying to set because of the effect this arc will have on him. I was this close to caving in before I realised hey fuck I'm the author here.**

**So moving on from that, I have closed and checked over the poll and unsurprisingly coming out on top, is the fan favourite, L.E.M.O.N. God I swear, the only thing that you guys only think about is lemons, lemons, lemons. Argh, seriously, imagine my shock when at the top it popped up: 'what about lemons? Will you write them?' I immediately shrieked like a girl out of trepidation.**

**After that, and some few head bangs against the bathroom wall muttering, "Why did you put that up smartass?" I just shook my head and thought: 'well, it could've been worse… at least the atomic bomb joke one didn't win.**

**I removed the little moment from this chapter. The horror of what I had done caught up with me and I removed it. **

**Spoiler alert!**

**Congratulations to NaruHina lovers, rejoice for you have won. After seeing Boruto and Himawari i have to admit i fell in love as well. Anyway nice to see Naruto accomplish his dreams at the end of it all. It's been a journey.**

**Naruto has ended? Oh my god the world must be fucking ending.**

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_**The best review for the last chapter is: **__**This is my first review, but only because I've spent the better part of 4 hours reading this work of art. It's great and frankly deserves more reviews and follows and favorites. It's a near perfect blend of development, action, and emotion and I can't wait for more. I hope you update soon and I'm sure I'll be checking out your other work in the meantime. –tadpoleturtle.**_

_**The best I had and still have for this reader is a sincere thank you. If you didn't know it, I would like to let you know that your review made my day, so thank you for the kind feedback and to everyone else who reviewed.**_

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**Chapter 13: Impediments**

* * *

Drowsiness and numbness…

That was all he felt, his head could not make heads or tails of his situation as the memories of his most recent activities were scattered about like a thousand tiny shards of a shattered glass. His mind was darting here and there and not truly there either and his body felt crushingly heavy. He attempted to peer open his eyes, only succeeding in twitching the skin around them as his eyelids felt a thousand tons heavy. He tried to move his body, but much to his shock found that he couldn't, almost as if he was incapable of doing so.

Paralysed? A voice whispered mockingly in his ear, drawing a light groan of delirious frustration from him.

An unbearable numbness washed over his being, so much that he couldn't feel the sting on his neck. Flashes of activity passed before his eyes, as the scattered memories of the previous night returned with a vengeance. It all came back to him, like a dam torn off of its restrains and let to flood freely, the memories flooded his mind.

Haku - The feeling of Haku's soft lips, the sight of the love and sadness gleaming in her eyes and then, a stinging pain in his neck followed by a blackout. After that there was nothing, only blankness which he clawed at within his mind to see if he could recall something else of importance. With that in mind Naruto's eyes widened as the recollection of his memories struck him hard and made him aware to his dilemma.

He could barely remember the last thing he had heard, Haku's soft voice whispering to him as darkness warped him into its inescapable realm, as she left his sprawled form over the bed, motionless and cold.

'_I'm sorry Naruto-kun…' _Whatever that had meant, it brought him no reassurance but only a cold chill of haunting whispers that ran through his being, foretelling with a ghostly mantra of danger. Something was about to happen. The worst thing was that he did not even know where to start looking for Haku. He felt foolish and childish, for not asking her of where she resided all this time. Though it did not seem Haku would be forthcoming with that bit of information. He always knew she was hiding something from him and her doing what she did to him spelled only danger. She was protecting someone, he now knew it but wasn't sure whom. Him or someone else?

Naruto sighed deeply. He shut his eyes as his mind reorganized the latest mirror of memories into perspective. His head still felt heavy, and with his awareness came the stinging effects that racked through his body that his recent state of unconsciousness had dulled his body toward. He was lying on his bed, his eyes blinking and fluttering heavily once a few seconds in an effort to rid himself off of the grogginess he felt.

Naruto pulled the needle from his sensitive skin. He gazed at it with a slightly dazed expression with his eyes mere slits as he had them squinted tightly. He forced Chakra throughout his being, feeling as the numbed feeling was washed away slowly by his powerful life force. He gazed at the Senbon one more time, his bearings working rationally this time and his eyes could see a dark substance coating the long needle. It was remarkable because he wasn't able to pick it up without the Chakra running through his eyes. He ignored the slight tremble in his hand as he brought the needle close to his nose, taking a mild whiff at it before he immediately frowned, "Poison," he murmured hoarsely in a low tone before he cast the Senbon away with a casual throw.

He struggled to his feet as he pushed his naked form off his bed, feeling bouts and long bouts of disorientation and delirium washing over him, making him fall to the ground on his left knee. Naruto gritted his teeth in anger, feeling betrayal slowly seep into his being at his helpless state and Haku's actions. He had unleashed a wave of Chakra to allow himself to at least keep moving but it was barely enough as it felt as if his muscles were rejecting movement at all. He felt as if he had been trapped in a coma for a decade. His senses were dysfunctional and scattered about, and his Chakra felt uncontrollable.

'_**It is poison, one specifically made for someone with your healing qualities. You were weak and she took advantage of you.**_**'**

Naruto blinked as he felt the voice of his tenant echo in the back of his head, while he rested his hand on his naked lap, sweat running down his brows while he twitched them now and then, still feeling extremely dazed and out of it, '_I was not weak, and I never asked for your opinion. So shut_ _up, unless you have something helpful_ _to say._' Naruto fired back, quite miffed and angered by the Bijuu's rude remark.

He was angry, disappointed and a lot of other things but not as much as he was with himself. However he couldn't dispute the latter fact that Haku had taken advantage of him. The issue was that it was just hard to believe Haku could actually do something like that to him, to take advantage of his feelings and moment of weaknesses to paralyze him.

Naruto felt the Kyuubi snort mildly, '_**I suppose then that you won't need my help, after all only my Chakra can purge the poison and negate the Senbon's paralysis effect from your system.**_**'** There was a short typical pause in between as if the Bijuu mulling something over or was perhaps done and awaiting a response from its blond host, '_**She hit you at your weakest moment.**_'

Naruto couldn't help the snort that escaped his lips at that, '_You know, I'm beginning to think you don't really know how to say 'I would_ _like to help'._' He said as he grunted with effort, still using his hand to balance himself as merely getting to his own feet seemed akin to climbing one of those mountains in Iwa. His eyes glossed over with bitterness as he recalled something. '_And besides, she wouldn't be the first one to do so._' More than anything, he regretted telling her he was a Jinchuuriki; otherwise whatever poison she had concocted wouldn't have worked if she had not known that bit of information. But of course he had gone and blabbered off to her his secret, which had driven him from Konoha, which had been the biggest cause of many troubles in his life and from the look of it, more to come. What had he been thinking?

A threatening growl rang through Naruto's head, '_**Do not patronize me for what happened years ago brat. I would never apologize even on my worst day.'**_

'_Yeah, I know. So please do whatever you can, but no funny_ _business._' Naruto said before his eyes narrowed as he let out a heavy sigh, '_I still can't believe Haku would do this to_ _me though._'

Naruto's statement was met with a loud "tsk" of which reverberated within his mind in a sheer booming sound, '_**That is just how you Ningen are-'**_ the fox began snidely however Naruto did not seem to be in the mood for entertaining the Bijuu's darkened contemptuous statement as he interrupted with a low growl.

'_That is not how Haku is_,' Naruto defended heatedly as his voice rose a few notches with a slight trembling quality to it, '_She_…' he began, uncertainty reflecting in his voice and on his face.

The Bijuu snickered at that. It seemed Naruto's naivety ran deep and he still refused to accept some aspects of humanity and the deception that all of his kind lived with. It was not generally out of kindness or concern that the Bijuu was trying to snap Naruto out of whatever fantasy he had about Haku but rather to ensure Naruto survived. The fox had decided after what had happened those years ago in the battle with Root that it would not put a far greater effort into making Naruto's life difficult but would steer him from available dangers and threats, and with the Bijuu, that was the general human race.

Somehow over the past few years seeing Naruto stumble and struggle had led to a feeling of responsibility over the blond and thus letting him know that Haku did what any human would've done fit that description, '_**She is what? Are you truly certain you know her? Do you truly know what goes on in her head?**_' The Kyuubi had its teeth bared from the darkened interior of its cage as it expressed its distaste for Haku, however sentiment driven and misconceived it was.

'_I…don't._' Naruto began as he felt a warm influx of potent Chakra wash over him, his eyes steeled as he slowly made his way to his feet with ease and flexing his hand reflexively, "But I intend to find out."

* * *

Haku stood a few feet away from Zabuza, staring absently at nothing of particular interest. Her chocolate brown orbs just stared ahead with a very disheartening absence and blankness about them, not even flickering or doing anything to denote that they belonged to a live person. Her back was to her master, and she was clad in her full battle garment without her hunter mask, with her hair not kept in its bun and left loose to drape itself around her form. She just stared, much to the chagrin of the man opposite her who had been watching her for god knows how long, having long come to the conclusion that Haku's mind had wandered off somewhere Kami knows not, or was it something else?. He did not know, but he certainly disliked it, if her head was not focussed, and her thoughts were a scatter of crows, then she would do him no good at all in the next hour.

Zabuza dared not profess to understand the intricacies of human emotion, after having shed his own away for his cruel, uncaring, aggressive and arrogant demeanour, however he knew that whatever it was that had rattled or bothered her, certainly did not involve the prospect of facing Hatake and his Genin. In fact, come to think of it, Haku did not even appear thrilled about it all, or even mused about how the battle would pan out even once. It had to involve her frequent outings, and he just hoped that she hadn't befriended one of the Konoha Genin, but that seemed like an unlikely outcome. If there was one thing he had garnered from Kakashi's team, was that they were not the most sociable of individuals. The Uchiha brat seemed like the type that had a cold fork up their ass, while the pink-haired one was very obviously a fangirl. The last 'Genin' however, was sort of a mystery to Zabuza. As opposed to being brash like most or even arrogant, he seemed to be neither. In fact his battle capabilities, composure and instincts told the true story about the boy, he was an ANBU. He had to be, it all seemed too familiar to the Kiri no Kijin, a style that was lethal, meant to be used to kill and the boy himself had fought with that intention, not for survival or to test his limits as his Uchiha teammate had but to kill him.

Regardless he looked toward Haku as he seized the euphoria of thoughts swirling through his head. It would not do for him to get distracted as well, "Haku, its time!" he said sternly with a commanding tone. His response however was delayed as the girl did not even respond to his command. "Haku!" He reiterated in a slightly louder voice.

"Ah, yes Zabuza-sama?" she asked absently and with a startled tone as she turned around, her face meeting his and evoking a widening of his eyes out of surprise.

"I said it's time." The man said as he walked closer to her with narrowed eyes, "What is this? Are you crying, Haku?" He voiced so much that the shock in his voice was palpable, but his question was met with a startled and absolute look of shock from his apprentice who instead stared at him accusingly.

"No, I…" Haku rubbed her face, and much to her horror, was met with the watery smears against the fingers of her hand as she brushed it across her face while her eyes slowly widened to match her state of bewilderment. "I...I…" she could not manage to utter any more words as she urgently bounded away from the man with hurried, distressed steps.

* * *

Naruto snapped his head up as he felt loud knocking on his door. He heard what he assumed to be voices from behind the door, recognizing one of them as that of his innkeeper. He channelled Chakra to his eyes out of mild paranoia. He had experienced enough surprises to last him a lifetime. He sighed as he recognized the small Chakra signature of the person.

"I wonder what he wants now." He muttered lowly to himself as he draped his long dark cloak over his form, and with a tint of irritation on his face, made his way toward the door.

Swinging the door open, he was met with the panting figure of Inari. The boy looked like he had seen better days, numerous twigs were stuck in his hair and clothing, and there were what Naruto assumed to be the remnant smears of tear stains on his face. He was balancing himself against his door, agony written over his puffy cheeked face. The blond stopped himself from what he was about to instinctively say out of annoyance as he noticed the boy's emotional state. He furrowed his brows in confusion, "What is the matter kid?" Naruto questioned calmly.

"Please, it…it's my mother. Gatou's thugs have taken her."

* * *

Naruto sighed for the umpteenth time as he sped down the thick forest with Inari on his back due to the fact that the boy would be able to keep up with the level of speed he was setting. The boy had a clearly concerned gaze in his eyes and had been silent for the rest of the journey. Naruto still did not understand what had happened to the boy's mother as he had not spoken more than a few words ever since they left his Inn about what truly transpired.

Naruto knew first-hand what the boy had to be going through and the amount of worry that he must be feeling but he needed to know the truth.

"I'm sorry," the boy suddenly said, drawing a raised eyebrow out of Naruto and also derailing his current train of thought. Inari looked down at the ground as Naruto regarded him with a questioning stare, "For what I said the other day. I just…" the boy trailed off as he clenched his teeth together, trying to suppress the tears that threatened to fall from his ears.

Naruto held his hand as if to stop the boy from saying anything further, "Hey, I'm over that right now. Its water under the bridge."

"But I…"

"You were angry and hurt. I know it must've been painful for you to see me doing what I did." The boy just nodded with his head still bowed. Naruto just gave a brotherly encouraging smile, "It's okay kid, but it was what any good person would've done, like your dad." A mild frown then clouded his gaze at that statement. Technically he wasn't a good person and he could never fall under that category what with the lives he had taken and the blood dripping on his hands. Good didn't qualify him but bad also didn't suit him, so was he in between? Sometimes he certainly felt as if he was no better than Danzo. With years of deception and cunningness at his memory disposal, Naruto knew that sometimes he manipulated other people and that was something any good person wouldn't do.

He increased his pace as the urgency to get to their destination struck him, and also the fact that he still had the case with Haku to resolve, if he even knew where to search for her that is. Disturbing rather but it just made him all the more determined to find her. He added Chakra to his feet to augment his impressive pace to greater levels, appearing only to be a blurring line darting through the midst of the sea of trees. Naruto suddenly skidded to a stop after a while of constant running, surprising the boy on his back who gazed questioningly at him.

Inari was just about to speak but held himself back upon seeing the intense look on Naruto's face and how dangerously his shadowed eyes were narrowed. Naruto looked into the thick swaying trees that surrounded them on all sides as they stood upon a small clearing. A calm chilly breeze washed against the two, sending cold shivers down Inari's spine as the boy tightened his hold on Naruto's back.

The wind just blew by the trees calmly, and Naruto sensed that was where the Chakra disturbances he had felt had been trailing them for a while were located. He sent Chakra to his eyes, and immediately smirked mirthlessly at what lay behind the thick bush of trees. They were surrounded on all sides and by the looks of it, by nine highly trained Jounin level Ninja, with another one which was very small and civilian level at best. They were hiding beyond the trees, watching them with the sharp gazes of hawks from their hunched positions high above the tall branches of the trees. Naruto was surprised they hadn't moved as he knew that they knew he was aware of their presences but rationalized they could've been waiting for him to make the first move.

Naruto cleared his throat loudly, they were not radiating the most hostile of intentions but they were not unarmed either. "You can come out now," Naruto said as he looked up into the trees as the wind blew by his form, "I know you're there."

Silence met his request as it seemed as if whoever was taking refuge within the thickness of the forest was in the mood for playing hide and seek. However mere seconds later the trees ruffled and nine figures blurred into existence in a circle around him, dropping from the trees with the grace of well-trained Ninja.

Naruto gazed at them and immediately frowned at the sight of their headbands. '_Konoha,_' He thought as the smile that had adorned his face fell off to be replaced with a blank look. He would dare not say he was relishing what was to come next and he already could guess what they were here for. He just hoped that they wouldn't delay him from his earlier objective. All of them were very strong and some at a level that would put Danzo's ANBU to the wire and Naruto knew that were battle to suddenly break out, he would be hard pressed to bring out his big guns. Six of them were wearing ANBU black op uniform and all of them were somehow exercising caution as they chose to remain where they stood while they stared at him with some of the Jonin staring at him with slightly surprised gazes.

One of the Konoha ANBU was carrying a young woman with long blue-coloured hair that went to her waists in the bridal position while the woman tightly clung to him in fear of being dropped if Naruto had to guess. She was wearing a pink coloured short sleeved shirt with a red collar, sleeve ends which were of similar colour and a long dark blue skirt which reached just over her knees. The man lowered the woman to the ground and she appeared somewhat disorientated from her travels with the Konoha Ninja as she gazed at everything around her with a querying glint in her eye and a slight sway of her form before she balanced herself.

Inari perked up at the sight of the woman and Naruto understood why immediately at recognizing some features about her that was similar to said boy. "Kaa-san!" Inari suddenly exclaimed excitedly as he wiggled off Naruto's back and ran over to the woman who had been lowered to the ground, unminding of the possibly dangerous individuals around her.

"Inari?" The woman muttered with some surprise before her face exploded brightly with motherly joy and relief, "Oh thank Kami you're safe." The woman said as she caught the running boy and nestled him into a motherly hug, whispering words of affection into his ears and assaulting him with chaste kisses whilst the boy merely shed tears of joy, sniffling away softly at his congested nose.

Naruto tore his gaze away from the reunited mother and son duo to stare at the Shinobi contingent with a curious stare, while also taking in their appearance with a scrutinizing stare. There was a beautiful woman with dark curly hair and red eyes that would drown any hot-blooded male. She stared inspectively at him, almost as if attempting to undress him and lay him bare as Shinobi tended to make very astute observations about a person's character but Naruto knew he was not giving much away.

Next to her stood a slightly younger woman with purple hair tied into a spiky ponytail, clad in very revealing clothing consisting of a tan overcoat, a dark orange miniskirt and a fitted mesh bodysuit stretching all the way down to her thighs and doing its bit to cover up her rather modesty. A small fang-like pendant dangled off her neck on a seemingly thick cord and she wore her forehead protector in the traditional position atop her forehead with her purple locks of hair covering the most of it and grey shin guards. She had a very intense look in her pupil-less light brown eyes and Naruto could swear she was looking at him with a look of slight familiarity and understanding.

The last woman of the twelve was an ANBU member with beautiful straight purple hair going down to her waist, a white Neko mask with three red stripes and clad in the standard ANBU uniform of Konoha. Her mask, similar to her posture was blank, not offering much to be deciphered about her. A Katana was strapped to her back and Naruto knew that she had to be exceptional at using it.

The rest were men, a Jonin with spiky black hair, black eyes and a very cool facial expression, wearing the Konoha Hitai-ate on his forehead with a cigarette hanging off his lips. The others were indistinguishable due to their similarity with their ANBU uniform, with black and grey armour, strapped Katana, metal arm guards and their blank masks.

"We found her being taken by Gatou's men. We rescued her and took her with us while we searched for the boy." A man masked in a cat-like mask which had green and red marks covering it and very short dark brown hair and who appeared to be the leader of this whole operation stated in response to Naruto's unvoiced and unanswered question, staring at said blond blankly.

Really? What Naruto felt was missing from that statement was 'we were searching for you.'

Naruto nodded nonetheless in acceptance of the man's statement and seeing no business to further hold up for discussion spun around to leave, "Naruto Uzumaki wait." The voice of the masked man strangely halted him in his tracks, his body doing so in a rather mechanical manner. That sounded like an order. Naruto remarked mentally at the man's request. He hated those especially with a vengeance and thus he just kept quiet, staring into the distance with a mask of impassivity on his repose while his back was to the Konoha Shinobi, "We need to talk to you." The man said in a very professional tone of voice, while he made no outward movements except merely raising his hand when he stopped Naruto.

Naruto turned his head to stare behind his back, his eyes hidden from the view of the Konoha Shinobi by his mat of hair, "Sorry, but I don't have the time." Naruto responded tersely, brushing off Yamato's desire to talk as he moved on to resume his walking.

"Where are you rushing off to?" The soft and calm womanly voice reached his ears and Naruto did not turn this time as he responded to who he believed had to have been the female ANBU member.

"The bridge of course," Naruto replied without missing a beat, his calm voice floating through the quiet atmosphere of the forest, "I have some unfinished business to deal with." He finished with narrowed eyes as so, a frown pulling at the skin on his forehead shrouded by a mat of hair.

Kurenai stared at the boy a while longer, her scrutinizing eye carefully absorbing the sight of the 'complete' stranger before her because he certainly felt that way to her. This was Naruto Uzumaki? She had to say, she was very surprised. This boy, no, young man before her couldn't be that same malnourished boy she had met a few times in passing, his eyes full of sadness and longing. It was a very sobering sight and whatever questions, doubts and expectations she had when the Hokage had assigned her the mission were immediately and effectively erased because what stood before her was far from what she was expecting.

He exuded power, experience and his eyes, those strange and mystical ringed purple orbs that she could only catch a glimpse of when the wind parted his hair told of a past full of pain. A past better left forgotten. Naruto's posture seemed relaxed and he also radiated this air of coldness and mystery that she was sure would intrigue most girls. He also didn't even appear put off by their appearance as he had just eyed them blankly and now had his back to them. Intriguing that was that Naruto would turn his back to nine highly experienced Ninja but could this be because he was sure of himself? Suddenly she wondered if this was what the Hokage must have meant when he said he had changed, and if it was for the better or worse. With how his mat of bangs hung over his eyes she couldn't pinpoint what he may be thinking but with how calm, restrained his enviable pools of Chakra felt, she knew this mere boy was an experienced Ninja. Just the simple fact of being able to suppress that much Chakra so effortlessly could only point her in that direction.

Although the details were sketchy, it was well known amongst the Konoha Shinobi populace that Naruto had demolished an entire platoon of highly trained black ops. She always thought that rumour was a bit exaggerated but the Hokage had been the one to reveal it to all of them. She was however glad that this was an S-rank mission where they couldn't bring their Genin squads for she was sure that her student would be devastated and heartbroken at the sight of her former idol.

"We can't let you do that I'm afraid. The bridge is currently a hostile and dangerous zone." Tenzo was surprised that Naruto was headed to the bridge as it could only mean that the blond was not in Nami no Kuni merely because he was passing through but on a mission of his own. That thought worried the ANBU captain as it could only mean that Naruto must have gotten on the radar of various dangerous people and Gatou's. However he found himself at sixes and sevens regarding Naruto's intentions for involving himself in issues such as these. A brief glance behind him told him that his comrades were somewhat surprised by the former statement by the blond.

Naruto just repressed a bitter chuckle as he finally spun around on his wheels to stare fully at the man, "And I'm afraid that is just what you will have to do," He said so simply it could be brushed off for a joke however his eyes narrowed with bemusement at something, "and what do you mean by that?" He questioned in retrospect to the latter statement concerning the bridge.

"Kakashi is there fighting a very dangerous missing ninja from Kirigakure." Asuma voiced in answer to the question by Naruto, his eyes narrowing at the blonde's obvious defiance toward them. It seemed that convincing the kid to come with them wasn't going to be easy but the boy was not even thirteen and if it came to it, they would coerce him into making the trek back with them. Whatever it took, Naruto would be returning with them come the end of the day, kicking and screaming if need be.

"A missing ninja? From Kiri?" Naruto questioned as his eyes narrowed with a thoughtful gleam and his head perked up with interest as he finally turned around to gaze at the Konoha Shinobi contingent.

"Hai. It's Momochi Zabuza and his apprentice Yuki Haku. They are both wanted missing Ninjas from their village." The female ANBU with long purple hair answered in a well-practiced blank tone of voice as she produced a Bingo book which had pictures of the two within it, "Zabuza was charged with an attempted coup d'état and assassination attempt on the current Mizukage."

Naruto felt his heart plummet and sink to the depths of the deepest unknown at those words. A bitter feeling built up within his throat as the air surrounding him became saturated with pensive sadness, "So that's why huh?" he muttered lowly to himself as his eyes fell down in a melancholic expression. His eyes hardened intensely as a bit of Chakra and killing intent leaked off of him, "That just gives me more incentive to want to leave then."

"It is too dangerous Naruto, we've been sent here to get you. Everyone wants you back home, Konoha is worried for you." Kurenai reasoned with the blond as it now became painstakingly clear that Naruto was not going to go through with things in a diplomatic manner or negotiate with them. It made her wonder though why he seemed so insistent about going to the bridge. What confused her was the sad glimmer that had appeared in his eye when Yugao revealed the identities of Zabuza and Haku. She wondered if this could mean the blond either knew them or something close to that.

Naruto stared at Kurenai as the killing intent leaking off of him intensified, managing to draw wary eyed stares from the Konoha contingent from how large and crushing the Chakra output of it was, "Well I don't want me back 'home'. I'm quite content with where I am thank you."

"Don't be stubborn kid. You don't want to make this any more difficult than it is." The younger purple-haired female declared as she finally spoke for the first time, her eyes narrowed while she glared at the blond.

"Oh…" Naruto raised an eyebrow in interest as his lips twitched mechanically and in a ghostly smile hidden by his scarf but one he figured Anko and her comrades could feel, "and if I persist?" the tone in his voice was low but it managed to reach the people standing a few metres away from him.

There was a short pause as the wind swept through the clearing, ruffling everyone's clothing while Naruto awaited his response with dangerously narrowed eyes, "We would be forced to use necessary force to restrain you." Tenzo answered professionally and sternly, his voice leaving no room for argument about whether or not his proclamation was bluff.

"Like an animal huh?" Naruto replied questioningly with strangely blank eyes. His response surprised many of the Konoha Ninja as their eyes widened at the implication of that question, with none taking on the duty of disputing Naruto.

"No, that's not what we mea-" Kurenai began hastily and softly only to be prematurely interrupted by the blond.

"It's exactly what you meant." Naruto spat out angrily as he swung his hand wildly in a defiant gesture, "You wish to keep me caged up in Konoha under the guise of living a free life; feeding me lies and making me believe that I am free while I really am not. I won't stand for it, I won't…" the blonde's voice rose as red hot anger bubbled to the shore, snapping his mild-mannered mask.

The blond took a deep breath of air as he came down from his sudden burst, reigning in his erratic emotions swiftly. He stared sullenly at the nine before him once he had composed himself enough, "Now, I'm only going to say this once." Naruto began in a low threat suggestive voice as his demeanour grew colder and a bit of Chakra leaked out of him, "Stay out of my way or else…"

The Ninja from Konoha seemed to mull his threat silently as a wave of silence washed over them. It was broken mere moments later as the man with the cool; laidback air about him strode forward by a few feet and stared lazily at him. Naruto noted that the man seemed to be looking down on him and his threat rather but dismissed it, "Don't be a fool Kid. Do you honestly believe you can defeat all of us?" Asuma questioned, his brows scrunching up as he snorted.

"Do you honestly believe I can't?" Naruto replied simply with a blank facial expression to match the man's derogatory stare.

Silence met his response as the Konoha Shinobi glanced and nodded amongst themselves as if communicating some kind of hidden message only they could understand but Naruto could not force himself to care what it was.

Naruto just stood still as the Konoha as the Konoha Ninja exploded into action. Thick branches exploded out of the ANBU captain's arm to wrap themselves around Naruto's form as the man's arm morphed into a tree. The purple headed woman moved next, unfurling her hands and letting long snakes from out of her sleeves which flew toward the blond with bared fangs, wrapping themselves around his waist as well and hissing threateningly above his head with their fangs dripping with poison.

"I see, so this is what it has come to huh. So ironic cause it all seems so familiar." Naruto whispered to himself absently as his head was bowed; the long bangs of his hair casting a shadow over his obscured eyes.

The others were also in motion, skilfully twirling Ninja wire all around Naruto's form before they all settled, all holding and pulling on them while Naruto stood in the middle of them heavily restrained and looking some sort of wood-wrapped mummy.

"We were told not to underestimate you, but regardless you will be coming with us." Tenzo concluded as he began stalking toward Naruto.

"I don't think so. Kongou Fuusa!" Naruto head snapped up and his form glowed gold before golden chains exploded out of him, snapping all the bindings or restrainments from his form and swirling violently around him, their height daunting and terrifying as they kissed into the high skies and conjured up a shockwave of air from their sudden appearance. Their loud clanking noise muted out everything else that had been taking activity within the forest and mesmerizing gold was all that was in everyone's line of sight.

"This is…" Kurenai stammered as she shielded her eyes with her hand from the resultant shockwave Naruto's summoning of the chains had kicked up. The last time she had seen those chains and this Jutsu was nearly thirteen years ago. She never thought she would see another possessor of the Chakra chains capable of restraining a Bijuu in her lifetime but now that she did and that person was standing in front of her and not as an ally, she felt greatly discouraged.

They all pulled out their weapons as the golden chains all faded into Naruto. The blond sent Chakra to his eyes and his hair parted from his forehead, exposing his eyes fully to the Konoha Shinobi who noted the intense look in them.

Naruto held his hand in the ram handseal before all around him the earth broke apart. Large gorges and slabs of earth resembling sharp spears lifted up into the air around him, orbiting around Naruto's body in a perfect ring, "Banshou Ten'in Kai: Rokku Yari!"

Naruto thrust out his hands as he let loose the spears of rocks, sending them flying toward the twelve Ninja.

Tenzo stepped up to the aid of his comrades as he ran through hand seals at a quick pace, "Mokuton: Mokujouheki!" tall roots exploded out of the earth from opposite ends, locking against each other and forming a tall dome-shaped wall, encompassing the forms of the Konoha Ninja and talking the brunt of the attack from Naruto. The impact was loud and kicked up dust, causing a cloud of the fine particles of the earth to hover around the area.

"You two," Naruto's sudden voice knocked Inari and Tsunami from their daze, as the blond called out to them without looking toward their position. Naruto's stern voice surprised them as they turned their terrified gazes to his, "Now would be a good time for you to leave."

Tsunami nodded frantically and dumbly as she stood up, grabbing Inari by his hand. The boy looked toward Naruto with a concern filled gaze, "What about you?" he asked.

Naruto gave the boy a soft stare, "I will be fine."

Tsunami and the boy took off in a hasty run as they disappeared behind a flock of trees, in the direction of the village.

Naruto slowly took off his cloak, casting it aside with a casual throw. He wrapped his red scarf tightly around his face like a mask, pulling it up and tying it on his back in two long tails. He unbuttoned the three gnomes of his shirt and reached to his back, pulling out his sword and entered a ready stance. He peered into the dust clouded area where he assumed his enemies still were with his gaze. Sensing movement, he brought his sword up, deflecting two Kunai flying toward him.

He took off toward his enemies in a blurring run with his sword in his hand.

The six black ops pulled out their own Katana as well, moving to intercept Naruto as the dust cloud cleared. Naruto blocked the first swipe from the first Anbu, and kicking him in the chest. He spun around to block a swipe from another one, before the two attacked each other with several swipes.

Naruto ducked under a horizontal swipe from another black and dug two palms into the man's ribcage, halting him before Naruto drove a harsh kick into his face, causing the man to fly backwards and fall on his back harshly.

Naruto leaped up into the air as another black op member hurled an explosive Kunai his way. The Kunai tag went off in a plethora of flames and debris, casting a cloud of dust over the clearing while Naruto was still mid-leap.

Tenzo flew at Naruto with his Katana immediately once the blonde's feet touched the ground. Naruto clashed swords with Tenzo; the two entering a brief power struggle as they found themselves deadlocked. Tenzo disengaged the blond, jumping backwards as Asuma came flying at Naruto with his trench knives, swinging them with punching motions at Naruto who blocked the swipes from the wind enhanced weapons. Naruto channelled his own wind Chakra into his sword and responded with a slash, managing to cleave off a small portion of Asuma's sleeve much to the man's surprise.

Asuma blocked the next swipe from Naruto, managing to catch the long faintish glow of Chakra extending from the tip of Naruto's blade with his hands crossed before him. Asuma surprised Naruto by smirking as the two pushed against each other, "So you're a wind user too huh kid?" the man grunted out with his cigarette hanging off the corner of his lips, clutched in between his white teeth.

Naruto responded with a smirk of his own behind his scarf, twitching the cloth around the portion where his lips would be, "And a lot more too."

Naruto reared his sword back, sending a slash toward the man who blocked and responded with a quick kick that caught Naruto's shoulder, sending him skidding across the ground with his feet still on the ground and digging into it while forming a trench across the earth.

Naruto let out a thin line of breath, before he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Leaping backwards he brought his sword up as the purple headed Kunoichi flew at him with a raised Kunai.

Anko attacked the blond ferociously, sending slashes of her Kunai meant to debilitate. Naruto blocked as Anko stabbed at his chest, the impact of steel sending sparks of light into the air. The woman twisted her wrist, causing her sharp Kunai to glide impossibly down the length of Naruto's sword with sparks flying before stabbing it into the blonde's arm.

Naruto's sword fell to the ground while he suppressed the pained scream that threatened to tear out of his throat before he was sent rocketing away from Anko as the she nailed him with a heel kick to the chin. Naruto collided against a tree and was immediately on his feet as two thick vines of wood flew at him, attempting to ensnare him in their grip.

Naruto leaped backwards acrobatically as the wooden vines followed after him, twisting through the air like in a manner akin to a predator.

He landed on a tree bark, his form hovering above the ground horizontally. His senses told him to jump and he did, barely avoiding the violent gust of wind that tore through and obliterated the tree where he had been on.

Naruto landed on the ground expertly and soundlessly. His eyes roamed toward where his opponents stood at a ready position with Asuma's hands still held in a seal from whatever Jutsu he had unleashed.

The nine worked in a perfectly coordinated manner and they had managed to disarm him off of his sword. He suppressed a wince at the chill of pain that came from his right hand. He raised his hand to examine it, seeing the deep cut on his wrist already kneading itself together effortlessly while the bleeding had stopped. The purple headed Kunoichi seemed to dislike him quite much. It seemed as if she wished to dish out a lot of pain to him. He did not know why nor care what he had done to evoke her wrath, what mattered to him now was wrapping this up as fast as he could in order to get to the bridge.

Anko snorted derisively as she stared at the blond, "You know for all the hype surrounding you, you're nothing special." The woman spat out distastefully as she glared at Naruto, her hand still on the Kunai she had used to stab him.

"Anko," Tenzo began in a stern, chiding voice as he stared at the purple-eyed woman out of the corner of his eye. The woman merely snorted as she looked away, while Kurenai stared at her worriedly. Tenzo looked at all his comrades, "Don't get overconfident. He's holding back, isn't that right Naruto." The man questioned with his eyes narrowing.

Naruto held his working left hand up in single handseal and the wrappings around his arms and legs glowed with seals, loosened and fell off in a roll to the ground.

"Taking off some weights won't help you kid." Asuma said noting that the wrappings were lined with several weighting seals. He increased the pressure on his trench knives while everyone around him each got into a fighting stance. Although he had to admit he was impressed Naruto had managed to keep up with all of them with whatever amount of weight her had on his form, which just made the man wonder how much faster he would be now that he had taken them off.

Naruto just stared at them with his eyes gleaming with mischief, "I know…" He said lightly as he raised his hands, his palms unfurling and outstretching and pointing in the direction of the Nine that stood around him, "But this will." He finished as his Chakra spiked dramatically, while all his opponents tensed.

"Shinra Tensei!" Naruto unleashed a long wave of crushing gravity, sending all his enemies flying careening back from the Jutsu and blowing off a decent part of the forest along with them.

"Phase two…" Naruto muttered to himself as he let a Chakra rod seep into his hand, "Divide and conquer."

He figured that fighting them all at once will most certainly waste time and will also be a pain. They all worked extremely well together, almost like they knew what the other was thinking. He had used Shinra Tensei to separate them and take them down individually because it seemed they had come prepared to fight as a group. He ran through a long set of unorthodox handseals, ending on the ram hand seal, "Rinne Bunshin no Jutsu!" Eight clones slowly morphed into existence around him not in the traditional puff of smoke but merely out of nowhere.

They all nodded to each other before they disappeared into the trees in blurs of speed and in different directions.

* * *

Kurenai groaned as she stood up from where she had crashed after being repelled by Naruto's technique. She wobbly made it to her feet and gazed around to find herself alone. Her eyes widened at seeing the destruction that lay around her and which had been wrought by Naruto's Jutsu. A long dirt path was formed from where Naruto gravitational technique had rippled through, taking a major portion of the forest with.

She soon pulled herself together as the sound of impending footsteps reached her ears. She saw as 'Naruto' emerged from behind the trees. In his hand was a long dark blade made of metal she couldn't quite place and Kurenai felt fear seep into her heart. From the little she had glimpsed of the blonde's power and the feel of his Chakra, it was a very disconcerting thing to take to mind. Naruto was simply put, powerful, utterly so. She forced herself to remain focused, her hand creeping to her weapons pouch which much to her expertly concealed horror was empty. Her brows furrowed into a wide frown. She was not at all formidable at hand to hand combat but she was confident she could hold her own long enough until one of her comrades could come to her aid. She was no Anko or Asuma but she had her tricks as well, and her Genjutsu would also prove invaluable in this battle.

Regardless, she was confident she could hold her own against 'Naruto', nevertheless the fact that he had went against Asuma, Anko, Tenzo and members of his squad in battle just shortly ago. She had the option to opt for Genjutsu first but decided against it as she did not know Naruto's efficiency and skill level with it, but also because she wanted to catch him off guard if possible because merely starting with Genjutsu now would be inadvisable.

She entered a standard Jonin low-level Taijutsu stance, bending her knees slightly to allow free movement and keeping her hands close to her chest with the palms spread wide open. It was a defensive stance. That much she knew but it was all she could do with. She had her gaze fixated on Naruto who was merely observing her with a calm disheartening eye, almost scrutinizing her, as unbelievable as that sounds.

'Naruto' wasted little time as he blurred toward her with speed which caught her by surprise. Her eyes only managed to widen momentarily before she then found herself staring into Naruto's rippled eyes for the first time, his long hair blowing slowly in the calm breeze as the rationality of time seemed to be thrown away out of context briefly as she swore it had slowed down the moment 'Naruto' appeared before her, as if allowing her to catch full view of his features.

No sooner had she locked eyes with him, she found herself wishing she had not at seeing the hard glint in them. And then the next thing she knew, she was flying backwards as something hard smashed into her soft jaw.

* * *

Anko moaned softly as she too was in a daze about her wits and situation. She did not know what hit her for one second Naruto was at their mercy, and was standing there before all of them and then he raised his hand and they were all flying a blink of an eye later. It was frustrating to think about truly to her. She couldn't accept it, the fact that a brat had just merely made light work of them with a single technique.

She crawled to her knees, spitting some blood to the ground as a cough escaped her lips. Her face was bowed but she could see that a shadow loomed directly over her form from the corners of her eyes. She forced herself to look up much against her better judgement and she was met with the stern countenance of 'Naruto' who was scrutinizing her with an inscrutable gaze.

"You're like me," he said softly in a kinder yet impassive voice which surprised her, "I know what your master did to you. In fact he doesn't make it onto my list of favourite people." The blond continued calmly as his eyes seemed to pierce right through Anko's crawled form, whose hand crept toward her neck where she rubbed at it with a forlornly expression.

There was a short pause as the two just stared at each other, "However, that doesn't mean I have to like you either."

Anko chuckled mirthlessly as she broke eye contact with 'Naruto' for an instant, "Heh, do you think I care?" she asked with a voice laced with bitterness, bringing her eyes up to stare at Naruto with a mild glare.

"As a matter of fact, yes you do. I know all about you, Mitarashi Anko. Tough on the outside, fragile on the inside." 'Naruto' replied calmly, his words meeting silence as Anko strangely had no retort to them, "They are qualities of which I myself once frequently adorned. This mask of toughness you wear to hide your pain, I understand you very well. It is just a measure to hide your true pain, loneliness, hatred, rage and love."

Anko's head fell once more at that, her eyes narrowing with a glint of some incomprehensible emotion in them. Her fist quivered with some measure of untamed emotions as well as she averted her gaze from Naruto's own. She could've reverted to her nonchalant demeanour but would it be of any use, it certainly wouldn't fool this kid.

"Had I stayed in Konoha, perhaps we could've been friends. But today…" A black rod of Chakra flared into existence within Naruto's hand which he gripped tightly while his gaze remained on Anko whose eyes flickered briefly to the weapon, "we're bitter enemies."

Anko used her hands to push herself into a backward skidding motion as she moved away from Naruto who hadn't yet moved. She leaped to her feet as she gripped the Kunai in her hand as she entered her own fighting stance. She suppressed a wince as a bitter pain racked her neck, drawing her to lose her focus as she clutched at it, an action which intrigued 'Naruto'.

'Naruto' raised his receiver wielding hand up and ran at her with it in hand. The two clashed blades as they restarted their battle, kicking up some dust from their point of impact.

* * *

Tenzo looked up as a small streak in the sky slowly descended toward him. He initially mistook it for a bird until he sensed the large, enviable Chakra signature it let out. It grew proportionally bigger with each second and the man could make out a humanoid shadow that whatever it was cast on the ground. He reached into his Kunai sack, pulling out one and flinging it up toward the oncoming falling figure.

A clang of metal signalled the deflection of his weapon and mere moments later, Naruto crashed into the ground.

'_Yep, definitely not a bird._' The man remarked jokingly inside his head as he stared at the crouched figure of the blond.

Naruto stood up and gazed at the ANBU captain, "You're the one they call Kinoe? The Mokuton child?" Naruto queried the brown-haired man.

Tenzo's posture instantly changed, the air surrounding him turning cold and deadly serious, "How do you know that?" the man questioned wearily, his voice laced with acres of suspicion. That was a secret only three people were privy to in Konoha, and Naruto wasn't one of them. It was the type of secret that Yamato knew could jeopardise village security, Konoha's image and their relationship with the Hi no Kuni Daimyo.

"I know a lot of things I shouldn't. Bad things those are. Most of Konoha's dirtiest secrets, all in here." Naruto finished as he tapped his head repeatedly with his finger as if to emphasise his point, in a move which just perpetuated Yamato's suspicions and paranoia.

"And who told you these secrets?" He had very few guesses and none of them could risk telling Naruto something like that. The last person aware of that fact was the last person from Konoha bar Kakashi's Genin team to encounter Naruto, Shimura Danzo. Of course, it had to be him, it had to be one of the reasons Naruto was so against returning to Konoha, Danzo had to have spilled a few things. However if it was so, it raised the question of why Danzo would tell Naruto of something so unrelated to him (Naruto) and why Danzo would even do something of that sort as it implicated him. Perhaps he wished to portray Konoha in a very bad light in Naruto's eyes but it made no sense nonetheless.

"I extracted them myself." Naruto replied simply, "So don't expect me to be calling upon the Kyuubi, I won't need it for this battle." Naruto said as he

Tenzo just stared blankly at the blond, staying in character as he suppressed the natural urge to chuckle from the blonde's statement, "You sound sure of yourself."

"Because I have to be if I am to survive in this world. I have trained myself into the ground so that I can handle someone of your capabilities." Naruto responded concisely as both himself and Tenzo continued eyeing each other down with examining stares, feeling each other's Chakra around.

"Then prove it to me, Rinnegan no Naruto." Tenzo said to the blonde as his hand morphed into a long wooden branch which flew directly at Naruto.

"With pleasure." Naruto said as he pointed his fist at the man's attack, several missiles emerging from the hand and facing Tenzo. The explosives dislodged themselves from off of Naruto's hand, swerving in the air as they set their sights on Tenzo who retracted his hand, and jumped up into the air to which they followed.

* * *

**(Clone 1 vs. Asuma Sarutobi)**

"Are you going to stand there and stare at me all day kid?" Asuma questioned 'Naruto' who stood a few feet away from him, staring at him absently. Asuma of course did the natural thing and stared back at the beginning but when it became clear Naruto would not be doing anything, he just occupied himself with his cigarette.

He had to hand it to Naruto however; the kid had already proven to be more than capable of taking on someone of his stature from their brief, demonstrative scuffle. The fact that the blond wasn't even pulling out those damnable golden Chakra Chains had to be proof of the extent of his confidence and self-assurance.

"No, I was just letting you finish your cigarette." Naruto replied tersely, his response drawing a raised eyebrow out of the Sarutobi who pulled on more of the contents of his tobacco pencil.

"Why? Will it be my last or something ridiculous like that?" Asuma queried with the skin on his forehead pulling into a mild frown and a narrowing of the eyes.

"Because you won't have much time to even take a single drag once we begin." Naruto replied without blinking, much to the man's amusement.

Asuma laughed heartily in a manner which so reminded Naruto of his father as he seemed to find genuine amusement from Naruto's statement, "Ah, you kill me kid." The Jonin spat his cigarette to the ground, his eyes narrowing as he pulled out his trench knives, the flying swallow technique activating as a visible blue hue enveloped the blades while the jounin stared at Naruto with a searching stare, "Are you sure you can handle a true wind user kid?"

Naruto actually managed to crack a smile as his lips twitched behind his scarf, "Yes, by turning into his worst match," Naruto proclaimed as he began weaving through handseals, stopping on the tiger seal reminiscent of all Katon Ninjutsu while he glared at Asuma, "A master Katon user."

"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!"

"Oh shit." Asuma cursed in a low mutter as the fire balls roared his way. The man stowed his trench knives as he took off in a hasty run, weaving through flocks of trees as he dodged the small fire flames and causing them to crash into and explode against the natural trees.

The man landed back on the clearing and ran through his own chain of three separate hand seals before placing his hands in front of his mouth, "Futon: Fuujin no Jutsu!" he said as he generated a violent stream of dust particle filled high velocity wind, it's made a beeline toward Naruto, who could feel the tearing and heavy excessive force that it carried with.

'Naruto' spread his hands wide away from his body in a flying stance before clasping them together and holding them tight in a Ram handseal, "Earth Release: Four Monolith wall! (Translation needed)" 'Naruto' surprised Asuma by not conjuring mud from his body but by merely summoning it from the earth. Four large black columns or blocks of stone flew out of the ground, forming a circle around and encasing 'Naruto' and suffering the scathing and biting force of the wind attack from Asuma's Jutsu which creditably tore someway into Naruto's defence. A large dust of smoke kicked up from where the two techniques had impacted against another and Asuma spread his senses as his vision was obscured by the cloud of dust around them.

'_Now where is he?_' the Jounin mused in thought as his gaze flickered everywhere, looking left, right and above only to be met with little success. A slight tremble in the ground surprised Asuma and the man jumped off from where he stood as a mechanised looking Naruto came bustling out of the ground as if it was made of jelly, his hands having transformed into two drills. Naruto's left hand transformed back into its normal appearance as he lifted it up for a punch to Asuma's face and Asuma only just managed to avoid the right hook from the blond by jumping up to which Naruto followed after him.

Naruto lifted his arm as a single missiles shot off up toward the airborne Asuma who cursed internally and twisted his body to dodge the dangerous explosive, feeling as it whooshed past his shoulder. He turned his head around to be met with a hard punch to the gut, followed by an elbow to the back before Naruto rounded off his combo with a kick to Asuma's back which sent the man crashing back toward the ground.

Naruto landed back on the ground only to feel a Kunai stab into his leg, causing him to drop to the ground in pain. He looked toward the downed Asuma to see him explode in a puff of smoke and cursed himself for not noticing that the man had created a Kage Bunshin when their Jutsus clashed earlier. Naruto yanked the Kunai out of his leg and leaped backwards as Asuma came at him with a leg-sweep.

Naruto landed back on the ground with a slightly stumbling crouch, his position allowing him to roll over as a kick crashed into where he had landed as Asuma offered him not a second of respite.

Naruto stabbed the Kunai into the ground, pushing himself up like a springboard and driving a kick into Asuma's chin which sent the man crashing back a few metres away, putting some considerable distance between them. Naruto gazed at the deep cut on his leg as it kneaded itself back together slowly, the experience bringing a slight measure of discomfort to him at how fast it did so.

Naruto heard the whistling of a weapon and moved just in time as a Kunai whizzed just past his face, cutting a thin line on his face from the extension of wind Chakra increasing its length. He blinked out of his surprised stupor as Asuma dove at him, driving a harsh kick into his rib cage. The man followed up on his assault as he drove powerful and quick expert punches into Naruto's face, his chest and stomach before grabbing him by his shirt and twirling him into the sky.

Naruto opened one eye from the wince that had just escaped his lips and twirled in mid-air, raising a palm and pointing it toward Asuma. The man dug and planted his feet firmly into the ground which caused Naruto to smirk, which the man just missed due to the cloth covering his face.

"Banshou Ten 'in!"

Surprise broke on Asuma's face as the ground where he was standing rumbled before it broke apart in a perfect circle and was yanked toward Naruto with such force the distance between him and Naruto seemed milliseconds long. He was still standing atop the cube of earth and 'Naruto' met him in mid-air, assaulting Asuma with a flurry of devastating blows while gravity still favoured them before he grabbed Asuma by his arm and flung him back toward the ground.

Naruto followed after the man, running through a quick chain of handseals as he did so, "Katon: Hirakajin no Yari!" rather an unorthodox name for a Jutsu, sounded quite familiar but he had struggled to come up with anything worthwhile or original and thus the name sounded similar to his father's priced technique, much to his great ire.

Naruto formed a ring with his fingers around his mouth and breathed out a long and wide torrent of fire, spanning a wide distance. The flames coalesced and melded into one long spear of red hot flames. It roared from the intense inferno of flames as it descended toward the still similarly descending Asuma at great speed, making his drop appear slow in motion compared to its own momentum, it's rather projectile-like shape aiding its level of speed greatly.

Asuma opened one eye just before he smacked into the ground harshly to see a mean spear of fire falling toward him with Naruto following after it, the technique spanning a respectable distance while casting a wobbling shadow of flames upon his whole form and making the hair on his skin rise in some sort of alarm. Asuma moved just before the spear inferno impacted the solid earth.

The resultant explosion and shockwave flung him backwards and introduced him to a rough collision with one of the countless trees surrounding them. He slumped against the bark of the tree before using it to pull himself to his feet. He quickly took off his Jonin vest which had been singed by the flames and was now on fire itself. His breathing had now become somewhat laboured and forced.

'_Damn, what the hell is this kid?_' he thought with a slight grumble as he panted, feeling warm blood against his tongue which he spat not more than a second later. He looked around searchingly for the blond, the thick veil of dust and smoke clouding his vision and making it difficult for him to see more than a few feet in front of himself.

'_Times like these I envy that lazy ass Kakashi_,' he heard a slight disturbance in the air and he pulled out his trench knives to block a stab from Naruto's Chakra receiver. He kicked at the blond who dodged by leaping back, putting some distance between them.

Asuma panted harshly as he stared at the blond with an impressed gaze. It had been quite a while since someone had actually pushed him this far and he couldn't believe a kid was the person to do so. However considering whose son Naruto was, he guessed he shouldn't be surprised. However it was still hard to accept, this would dock a few points off his 'cool' and it certainly wouldn't be a story to tell kids back home either, how he got his ass handed to him. Definitely wouldn't leave Kurenai impressed too. Life sometimes was just so frustrating but at least Naruto hadn't bored him to eventual defeat.

The blond appeared worn out but not as much as the older man was.

Asuma leaped forward, clashing weapons with Naruto. The two traded blows, Asuma pushing Naruto into a corner.

The blond blocked another swipe from the Konoha Jonin before he responded with a leg-sweep which the man skilfully jumped over. Naruto stared at the still airborne man as a chance finally presented itself and he would be damned if he didn't take it, "It's over." He said as he raised his hand, an outstretched palm facing in the direction of Asuma whose eyes widened in horror. A Chakra transmitter shot out of Naruto's palm and stabbed directly into Asuma's shoulder, drawing a pained grunt out of the man before he went lax and fell to the ground.

Asuma felt his systems shut down and his Chakra system and consciousness relinquish control to someone else. A pair of haunting rippled purple eyes flew open in his head and he could feel Naruto's conscience and Chakra commanding his own. All he felt he was in control of was his mind, voice and few menial features which 'Naruto' let him control.

The man surprised Naruto by laughing, "Well kid, I've got to say you definitely kick ass. Though would you care enough to tell me if you're the real one?" the man asked as he could hear the sounds of fighting ring throughout the forest, leading him to conclude that his comrades were battling their own opponents and in this case, Naruto. Had it not been so he concluded that they would've otherwise joined him otherwise a long while ago. This meant Naruto knew a replication Jutsu, or perhaps an advanced variation of the normal replication technique.

"No…I am not. I'm a clone." The Naruto clone replied tersely with his breathing still laboured.

"Just great, I just got beat by a clone." The man said mirthlessly. He raised his head to look up at Naruto with a slightly serious stare, "Hey kid, don't hurt Kurenai." The man said in a tone which carried a lot of urgency and concern.

* * *

**(Clone 2 Vs. Kurenai – continuation)**

Kurenai dodged another punch from Naruto by the narrowest of margins with a twist of the head. Scratches lined her features and she was panting excessively as sweat helped its way down her pale skin. They had been at this game, well if you wished to call it that for a while now and Naruto had been dishing out the punishment and she without someone to offer her support or backup was backed into a corner. She resorted to merely attempting to hold on for any form of support from her comrades but none of them had spurned forth yet and judging from the many veils of smoke and dust hovering at various points above the thick forest, she could only guess they were occupied themselves, with who, that escaped her however.

Kurenai crossed her hands in front of her chest as Naruto raised his foot to smack a hard kick into her crossed arms, sending her skidding backwards a respectable distance away and smacking into a tree softly, a soft groan escaping her dry and weary lips. She backed away as Naruto came smashing into the tree with another kick, his leg going straight through it and tearing it in half.

Kurenai threw a Kunai at Naruto who caught it by the ring and immediately upon doing so blinked as the woman disappeared before his very eyes, her form being warped into some strange realm of sorts. Naruto squirmed as he opened his eyes to find himself tied to a tree by a very large and still growing tree. The blond squirmed to free himself but to no avail and looked up as Kurenai materialised above him from the trunk of the tree with a Kunai in her hand.

"Why won't you return to Konoha?" She asked as she stabbed her Kunai into Naruto's head, the blond who could felt the whole experience. She pulled it out of the blond before placing it on his throat, "Why won't you return to Konoha?" she repeated.

Naruto laughed mirthlessly, "You're stalling…" Naruto said simply as he flushed his Chakra up and the tree binding his form dispersed in a mist and he brought his hand to catch Kurenai by her hand as she brought her Kunai down on him.

The woman smirked and Naruto felt as a sand pit form beneath his feet, dragging him deep into the ground before the sky transformed into a darkened and Naruto found himself back in Konoha. He was reclining behind the wide desk with mounds of paperwork atop it and the door swung open and in walked a spiky blonde haired man with sharp blue eyes, clad in a long sleeved blue shirt with dark blue Shinobi pants. He wore a kindly, bright smile on his face and Naruto's heart soared with all sorts of hazy emotions at the sight of the man.

"Hello Naruto-kun." Minato said as he sauntered toward said younger blond, opening his hands wide open in a perfect body embrace invitation sign, "I'm glad that you came back." The man said to Naruto who could only blink dumbly with wide eyes, the pupils in them tremoring in a horrified expression.

The man reached forward with his hand and Naruto slapped it away angrily, "Don't touch me. You're not real, you…you can't be…" Naruto shut his eyes tightly tuned out the world and the innocent confused countenance that tugged at Minato's handsome visage at hearing that.

"Naruto…" the man trailed off as he stared at the blond with an easy smile, trying to brush off whatever he had just said, "Why won't you come home son?"

The voice strangely reached Naruto's ears even with his effort to tune out and block out any sweet nothings the man might try to whisper into his ears. Naruto opened his eyes sedately and raised his head to stare up at the man with an incomprehensible and emotional narrow-eyed stare, "Because you won't be there to welcome me back." The elder blond man's eyes widened and Naruto felt a burn crawl up along his arm before Chakra exploded out of him wildly, breaking down the mirage of Minato in thousands tiny glasses before the sky returned to its natural sky blue colour and Naruto found himself back on the clearing.

He turned his angered gaze to Kurenai who stared at him from a few yards; before he began stalking towards her while she tensed visibly.

The woman blinked out of her reverie as she could feel the cold aura around Naruto fall to a deeper low, "What, but how, that was my most powerful technique. How did you break out of it?"

Naruto stopped a few feet before her before lifting his hand up to his elbow, revealing and pointing to a seal glowing and pulsating on his arm, "Fuinjutsu, it does not matter how powerful the technique. With Fuinjutsu, I can negate just about anything." The blond ran through a string of hand seals before he stared at the woman, "This ends now. No more games." Two blue flame-like Kanji marks alit on his fingertip and a phantom chain burst straight through Naruto's shirt, grabbing and entwining itself around Kurenai's form.

The raven head beauty struggled as she tugged at the long golden chain attached to the blonde's navel to ease the pressure on her form but it was in vain and she closed her eyes as Naruto yanked her along with the chain toward him and brought his flaming fingertips up. Kurenai let out a loud scream as Naruto drove both his hard fingers into the area above her belly, the two seals on them seeping into her skin before the woman slumped against Naruto's arm as she lost consciousness.

* * *

**(Clone 3 vs. Anko- a continuation**)

Naruto's clone blocked multiple vicious, wild swipes from Anko as she pressed on with what had been her relentless array of attacks with her Kunai. The blond copy had to give it to the woman; she was good and her fighting involved attacking like a predator. It was badass in fact if he wished to go that far and now he was using reflexes to escape from harm and his eyes to guess how she would attack next. She did not wait for him to attack but came at him. It seemed that it had been drilled into her head that she exerted control over her battles, poking and driving her opponent into a corner like a helpless prey. Almost like a snake if Naruto wished to go that far.

Her style was flawless, slithery and executed with a strange viciousness that the blonde's clone had suffered a few numerous cuts from the battle, with one under its eye bleeding profusely.

Anko and Naruto's clone traded hard blows as they stabbed at each other with their weapons, managing to swat the other's attack with their respective weapons. The woman used her agility to slide once more into Naruto's defences. She grabbed Naruto by his arm tightly and aimed a tightly clenched fist at his face which connected with the blonde's face harshly and sent him rocketing backwards.

Anko wasted little time on capitalising on that as she began running through a measure of hand seals, feeling her Chakra flair up in preparation of her Jutsu. Black marks crawled upon the skin around her neck with her usage of Chakra, causing her to abandon her Jutsu as pain racked her shoulder and she dropped to the ground. She had expended her natural Chakra limit and now the snake's hickey was reacting, making her feel fucking dirty all over again. She slowly pulled herself to her feet, panting as she had lost her breath. A thin line of sweat ran down her face, and a few strands of hair were out of place.

Anko forced the seal to retreat back as she forced the completion of her hand seals and slammed her hand on the ground. A circular seal matrix spread from the centre of her palm, the ground under it cracking somewhat, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A towering snake exploded in a booming cloud of smoke, its scaly figure filling everything within Naruto's line of sight. It slithered toward Naruto, the ground cracking underneath it and trees bending as its tail rattled and swiped wildly against everything surrounding it.

Naruto channelled mechanised his fist as he leaped to meet the slithering and impending predator. He slammed his feet hard into its face at the point between its eyes, dropping it to the ground and sending it crashing into the trees a short distance to their left. The snake summon squirmed as it spun around like a chain and Anko jumped atop of it as it slithered once more toward Naruto who pointed a raised palm at the summon, "Shinra Tensei!" Naruto repelled the summon a body crushing force.

Anko jumped off the summon as it dispelled from the crushing force of Naruto's technique. She set her sights on Naruto as she descended toward him, twirling wire around before throwing it toward Naruto. She ran through hand seals mid-air, "Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!" Anko breathed fire along the long wire which flew toward Naruto at breakneck speed.

The blond looked up to see a long line of flames falling toward him, leaping backwards, Naruto watched as the flames crashed into the ground and exploded in a wild cloud of earth and fire. Anko came bursting out of the resultant smoke with her eyes ablaze with an intense fury. "Sen'eijashu!" She punched her hand forward and out of her sleeve came out numerous snakes which flew at Naruto with wide fanged mouths dripping with saliva or poison.

Naruto ducked under Anko's snakes only to feel one wrapping around his leg, hurling him toward the woman who kneed him in the stomach, grabbed him by his neck before she kicked him away.

Naruto landed on his back before he caught a high drop kick from Anko with both arms before using his brute strength to twist the woman away with a twirl of the foot. He leaped back to his feet before he took off toward Anko who was lifting herself back to her feet. Naruto caught her with a strong head-butt, disorienting her and causing her to stumble a few feet backwards. Naruto took two long steps forward and drove a hard punch into Anko's gut, causing her to fall to her knees with a hand clutching at her stomach, coughing out some blood to the ground in a splatter.

Anko shook her head as the swirl of delirium left her and she looked up to see Naruto grab at the front of her clothing, drawing them eye-level as the blond was just a few feet and inches shy of her overall height. Anko smirked at Naruto before she drove a knee into his private area, causing said blond to drop her to the ground. She coughed somewhat as she stumbled to her feet and lifted a fist to punch Naruto only to momentarily freeze and her punch lost strength causing her to hit him lightly than she had intended to.

Naruto just stood up to see Anko eyeing him warily with one hand on her neck and another on a Kunai. Naruto took off toward her, raising a fist to smash it into her face only to hold it back upon seeing her blank and defenceless expression. Naruto frowned as he brought his fist back from just mere inches off the purple-haired tokubetsu Jounin's face. "What's wrong with you?" Naruto questioned Anko who just panted while her hand remained on her neck.

Anko fell to her knees, a wince on her features as she held her neck in a pained expression, her mouth hanging open as her laboured breaths trembled slightly, "It's none of your fucking business." The woman responded hotly as she wiped the blood falling off the side of her lips, struggling to her feet only to fall once more to the ground. Her eyes appeared different, not vicious, playful and brash as they had been but somewhat dulled and broken. She also stared at him in a different manner, almost as if what she was looking at was not him but someone else she loathed wholeheartedly.

Naruto took a step toward Anko, frowning at how dead and unresponsive she seemed. She appeared to be at his full mercy and strangely he didn't like it. A low voice whispered into his ear that perhaps it was sentiment on his side. He knew how hard the woman's life had been, but so had his. Perhaps he just did not like seeing a woman at suffering and it seemed what Anko wanted the most was freedom, from her curse, not death, just the mark that served as the cause of her pain.

Naruto grabbed Anko by her neck, putting his hand over hers and applying pressure to the spot which had been giving her troubles, a move which brought a new made her shake with powerlessness. Naruto exposed the area on the sensitive part of her skin, frowning as he was met with a black seal made up of three tomoe marks which was saturated with a foul mixture of Chakra, radiating madness and evil.

"So this is the thing which gives you trouble huh?" Naruto queried as he traced a hand on Anko's neck with the woman strangely offering no resistance to his actions, "Does it give you nightmares?" Naruto asked rhetorically to which Anko just remained quiet and Naruto sighed as he dropped the wary posture he was exuding. He gazed at the woman to see her gazing absently into the distance, her eyes having a gloss like glimmer to them.

"Would you like it if I took it off?" This question however drew an instant reaction pout of the purple headed Jonin as she gasped with surprise, her brown orbs widening in abject shock and a sheen of hope as she brought them up to stare at Naruto.

Her head fell however a second later as her gaze traced the ground as she forced herself not to remain hopeful, "Can you really do it?" she mumbled the question in a lower than normal tone of voice.

"I am not sure because I haven't tried this on things like seals, but I will try. I understand Fuinjutsu enough that I could come up with a countermeasure to Orochimaru's Juinjutsu, but that won't be until after a couple of years. Right now, only removing the cursed seal through absorption is the best method. But I don't know what will happen because I don't know what kind of Chakra it is made of."

'_**Don't touch that thing you fool**_.' Naruto's ever so silent tenant suddenly exclaimed, its bemoaning voice surprising Naruto slightly.

'_Kyuubi, what do you mean?_'

'_**That thing is made up of corrupted Senjutsu Chakra**_…' The Bijuu let the statement hang in the air for a few seconds to see if Naruto would understand the consequences of absorbing Senjutsu Chakra like he planned to, '_**You do know what will happen if you do don't you?**_'

Naruto frowned at that, his brief lapse of inactivity making Anko raise her head to gaze uncomfortably at him with worried eyes. Anko did not even know why she trusted this kid, but if he said he could remove the seal on her neck, the constant plague of her thoughts and dreams then she would give him a try. So far from what she had seen, he was a very experienced Shinobi and considering that she knew he was the Yondaime's son, she couldn't dispute the fact that he could possibly do it. However her heart was still in doubt and she forced herself to not remain hopeful at all and to save herself the disappointment of failure.

'_Then how is she able to handle it?_'

'_**I am not sure but I can only guess that whoever created that thing used some form of method to prevent it from overwhelming the wielder**__,_' The Kyuubi took a brief pause while Naruto awaited expectantly for it to continue, '_**As I said it is made up of Senjutsu Chakra and it is somehow filtering that Chakra into the woman.**_'

'_It is one of Sannin Orochimaru's cursed seals, the cursed seal of heaven if Danzo's memories are worth their salt. A rare one and a very lewd piece of sealing work._' Naruto ran his hand softly along the length of Anko's neck, drawing a content moan out of the woman, '_I don't think that this type of Senjutsu Chakra triggers petrification though._'

'_**Yes, because it is subpar compared to true Senjutsu. I believe this Chakra instead results in temporary or permanent madness if one uses it for a long period of time.**_' The Bijuu concluded wisely.

Naruto brought his gaze to Anko as he felt her wince under his hold and saw as a seal appeared over the cursed seal on her neck, '_It's been sealed, well as close to sealing it as one could get and with a Fuja Hoin no less. It has just been suppressed; this seal is too weak for this Juinjutsu._' Naruto said mentally to his tenant in the mindscape, a finger on his lips in a thoughtful posture, '_If I am to remove it, if that is even possible, I will have to release it._' Naruto concluded wisely.

'_Alright, I will need your Chakra then._' Naruto communicated to his tenant who let out a long breath of warm air that washed at the empty space in the mindscape, closing its eyes arrogantly.

'_**And why should I give my Chakra to you to help this woman? I don't owe her anything.**_' The fox replied with a snort as it receded back into the darkness of its cage within the mindscape, closing its eyes nonchalantly.

'_Why shouldn't you? And besides it's to help me if all goes south._'

'_**You must think me so whipped that I will bow to your every beck and call.**_' The monolithic Bijuu growled in a half-hearted annoyed manner as it slid one eye open to stare at a non-existing phantom of Naruto.

'_Well then it's fine, I will do it by myself you arrogant jerk._' Naruto insulted the Bijuu annoyed by its constant grumbles and arrogance.

'_**Foolish brat, I will only assist you this once. After that, you're on your own.**_' The fox relented, surprising Naruto as it never was this easy. However the blond nodded his thanks anyway.

'_What, no more comments about devouring and tearing me to pieces?_' Naruto questioned with a smirk.

'_**Don't push me boy, I am still superior to you in every way.**_' The fox bared its gleaming, sharp teeth as it hardened its eyes to emphasise its point.

'_Keep telling yourself that fox._' Naruto said with a lazy yawn aimed at stirring another reaction from the Bijuu but it surprised Naruto by remaining silent.

'_**I will give you about a tail worth of my Chakra, you should feel honoured that I am indulging you with that much power…human.**_' The clone Naruto just nodded as he hardened his eyes and prepared to get to work.

"Alright don't move." Naruto suddenly said to Anko, his voice surprising her somewhat. He began running through a very moderate string of hand seals, going through the exact opposite direction that one would when conducting the Fuja Hoin before he ended on the Rat seal, he took a long whiff of air before calling out the name of the technique, "Kaija Hoin!"

"Wha-Argh" She immediately grimaced and squirmed uncomfortably as Naruto's hand slapped against the portion on her neck where her cursed seal was and immediately Anko's eyes widened when she felt the seal pulsate wildly.

Anko let out a choked breath as she mouth just hung open in a silent scream while the eyeballs in her eyes just twitched and shook. The overlying seal on her neck faded away and the three flame like patterned marks on her neck glowed and began replicating, clawing over other portions of her body.

Anko felt as the seal's Chakra fuelled her body and she shut her eyes tightly, trying to push it back through whatever willpower she had left. It was fighting her and she was somewhat surprised as it threatened to spread further but she was able to reduce it to just a few marks around her face, while the rest struggled to spread toward the rest of her body. "W-what are you doing?." She grunted hesitantly and out of concern to Naruto as she felt him loosen the seal binding her cursed seal.

'Naruto' just brushed off her state of worry with an 'hn' sound, "Just resist it a bit longer. I will begin draining it out now. Just trust me." Naruto said encouragingly to her and she just bit her tongue at the pain she could feel emanating from her shoulder. With one hand still on the woman's neck he pulled out a blank scroll from his pouch, unfurling it and laying it on the ground. "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" A clone popped into life beside Naruto and he nodded his command to it as it understood what it was it had to do.

The clone set out the scroll on the ground, pulled out a bottle of ink and a brush and began stroking away brilliantly, scribbling several complex seals from the top to the bottom edges of the scroll. The clone drew a kanji for "seal" at the top of the scroll and one for 'heaven' at the bottom, opposite of which he drew the kanji for 'earth' and another for seal around the Kanji for 'earth' before discarding the bottle of ink and the brush.

"The cursed heaven will fall and be swallowed by the earth; evil shall descend to the deeper unknown and become part with the earth." The clone muttered the strange mantra quietly before it placed its palm on the sheet of paper and began channelling Chakra into the scroll, causing the seals to all glow and crawl toward the centre where they formed a spiral symbol encompassing a strange seal matrix with twelve points, "Seal!" The clone announced loudly as it stood up and gazed toward its fellow clone to relay the message.

Naruto put his palms on Anko's neck and closed his eyes in concentration, "Gakidou!" The blond muttered and a glow came out of his hands and the marks on Anko's shoulder and face receded back toward her neck where the seal was and they slowly began clawing onto Naruto's skin.

Naruto grunted as he felt the cursed seal's Chakra enter his system, feeding on his Chakra greedily and burning his insides somewhat. The seals began showing on his neck and face and the blond pulled more and more of it from Anko, the woman groaning in pain while Naruto himself gave an occasional groan. The seal was somehow not resisting, and seemed to want to transfer onto him instead. He felt as the seals spread all over his body, glowing and pulsating while 'Naruto' felt it trying to affect his mind, whatever consciousness it carried trying to cloud his mind with thoughts of power.

'Naruto's' hands darkened as he kept the Chakra he had absorbed all clustered in that position, and Naruto could see as his hands grew proportionally bigger, transforming and taking on a grotesque form, with an long dense bones helping themselves out of the length around his entire arm, growing all the way toward the ground that the began resembling wings.

Feeling that he was sufficiently far enough, he opened one eye to stare at the other blond copy, "Let's do it." The first Rinne Bunshin groaned out painfully and with a lot of effort.

The other clone brought the scroll, unfurling it and splaying it on the ground for its fellow copy. Using one hand the clone absorbing the Chakra channelled it into the scroll, watching as the Chakra coalesced into a scaly white snake, which flicked its tail as it attempted to make a hasty escape but Naruto channelled his tenant's Chakra, pushing it back and into the sealing scroll. Naruto felt as the small serpent screamed almost manly as it descended further into the scroll, baring its fangs threateningly with its eyes staring disturbingly at him. "Kukuku kukuku! Naruto-kun, thisss issssn't over yeeee-" a slithery voice came out from the snake as it completely disappeared into the seal. The Rinne Bunshin's Kage Bunshin snapped the scroll closed and tied a string around it before dispelling.

The Rinne Bunshin panted in exhaustion in the end, and it felt its lungs burning as if it had ran a harsh marathon between Iwa and Kumo. He slid his hand off of Anko's neck to see her looking much worse, her eyes sagging in exertion and looking as if she would fall asleep anytime soon, "It's done, the seal is gone." Naruto exclaimed through laboured breathing.

"W-what?" she whispered softly as she blinked repeatedly as a means to stave off the call to just fall asleep, her hand went to her neck slowly and she stared at Naruto, "You...you mean it's really gone?" The young blond nodded and the woman's eyes widened whether in horror or gaiety 'Naruto' had no idea but soon she slumped to the ground as she lost consciousness, her final words being a whispered, "Thank you."

* * *

**(Naruto Vs Yamato- continuation)**

"Futon: Shinkuu Taigyoku!" Naruto inhaled a thin line of breath before he expelled a wide sphere of compressed air from his mouth which he hurled toward Tenzo.

Tenzo ran through his own hand seals, stopping on the seal of serpent. He slammed his open palm on the ground and countless wooden branches rose from the ground, interlacing as they formed a wide net-like wall made up of wooden branches. Naruto's ball of air smacked into the wall, tearing through the man's wall and causing Tenzo to leap out of the way as the ball continued tearing through portion of the forest before dispersing.

Naruto disappeared in a body flicker, appearing behind Tenzo before smacking a hard kick into his back, sending said man crashing back into his back. Tenzo kicked himself up as Naruto blurred toward him once more and grabbed onto Tenzo's hand, pulling him in for a punch to the face which the ANBU commander dodged with a twist of the head to the side.

Tenzo locked arms with Naruto, clutching at each other's palms as they struggled to push each other back.

The two jumped away from the other, both panting harshly with beads of sweat trailing down their forms. The whole field surrounding them was lined with scorch marks, small bits and remainders of Naruto's Chakra receivers and tall roots and branches of trees, spanning a wide distance and surrounding them. They were all cut in half and some obliterated into tiny splinters proof of the intensity of their battle.

Tenzo began running through a long chain of hand seals while Naruto allowed another black receiver to seep into his hand, his form tensing as he awaited his opponent's attack. "Doton: Doryūsu!" a long rumble rung through the earth, running toward Naruto before numerous spears made of earth protruded from the ground, stabbing at Naruto.

"Shuradou!" Naruto hardened his body with the mechanical hardness of his Asura path, the spears digging and crumbling against his hardened skin. Naruto swatted at the spears, punching through some of them with his hardened fists.

Naruto and Tenzo began running through hand seals simultaneously and in similar fashion before both of them stopped on a similar hand seals and raised their heads to glare at each other, "Suiton: Hahonryuu!" they both exclaimed and water exploded from behind them, coalescing into wide floods of water which swept toward their intended target. The two long currents of water smashed against each other, struggling to push the other back with before the water rose intensely and exploded in a shower of water.

Tenzo and Naruto attacked each other yet again as the water dispersed. The blond threw a fist at the man which Tenzo slapped away with a palm, before responding with a punch to Naruto's gut which the blond pushed off. Tenzo swept at Naruto's feet however Naruto leaped over the leg sweep before twisting his body to reply with chin kick which the masked man blocked by crossing his hands in front of his hands.

Naruto ran toward the ANBU commander, who stood his ground and held his hands in the ram hand seal. Naruto threw a punch to the man who sunk into the ground expectantly; surprising Naruto.

Naruto channelled his Chakra to his eyes as he searched for the man's Chakra signature which he found difficult to trace. Hundreds of wooden branches snapped out of the earth, wrapping around Naruto's neck before pulling him down and snacking him into the earth with a harsh impact. Naruto stared through dazed eyes as Tenzo emerged from the ground and began travelling toward him.

Naruto squirmed futilely as he clutched helplessly at the branches restraining him. He looked on to see Tenzo edging closer to him, "Give it up Naruto. Its' over." The man suddenly said.

Tenzo was suddenly surprised as Naruto stopped his struggle. His eyes narrowed in suspicion as the blonde's Chakra spiked dramatically.

Tenzo once more laid witness to the sight of Naruto's adamantine Chakra Chains as they exploded out of him, once more snapping the wooden bindings like they were made of butter. Naruto burrowed the Chains into the ground as he used them to elevate himself to a standing position. There were five of them, two digging into the earth and the remaining three hovering above Naruto's head and coiling like snakes with their sharp points. The clanking sound filled the space yet again and Tenzo though he hid it well, was impressed silently.

"No, this is where this ends for you." Naruto said as he brought his hands forth with his palms open, the chains around him also mirroring his actions as they coiled forward. Naruto thrusted his palm forth as he hurled four of the chains toward the masked man. They swerved toward him, lashing out violently with their sharp edges as they attempted to stab at the man.

Tenzo took several acrobatic leaps backwards as Naruto's chains followed after persistently like a predator stalking a prey. The man jumped over a lash from another chain; however Naruto swiped up his hand, using one of the chains to bat Yamato away roughly with the blunt side of his chain and sending the man flying through the air. Tenzo met a tree hard in a rough collision, tearing through it before he landed on his back.

He winced as he brought himself to his feet, and began running through hand seals to stare at Naruto who stood some distance away from him with his chains clanking around and above him. The blond began running through more hand seals, "Katon: Karyuu Endan!" Naruto's chest swirled up before he unleashed a high pressured stream of fire which flew toward Tenzo at different directions, coming from his left, his right and through the front as well.

Tenzo ran through more hand seals before he ended on the tiger seal and his cheeks puffed out, "Suiton: Suijinheki!" He blew out a high-pressured stream of water in a circular motion, the water rising up to compose some sort of wall around him which Naruto's technique smashed into. The water smothered Naruto's fire, the impact conjuring up a cloud of vapour and smoke to rise.

Tenzo ran through more hand seals behind the wall still encompassing him, "Suiton: Suihachi!" He brought his palm up as the wall of water collapsed around him, before a jet stream shot out toward Naruto who lined his chains together to form some sort of barrier, letting the technique disperse against them. Tenzou was already on the move, running toward Naruto with a sword as he concluded fighting the blond from a distance with his chains would prove detrimental as they were the perfect long-range weapon.

He raised his Katana up to see Naruto raise his hand as well and Tenzo felt a crushing tug on his form as he was suddenly hurled toward Naruto by some form of attractive force. Naruto raised reared his hand back, before thrusting it forth and making Tenzo's eyes widen as the chain plunged straight through his form. Naruto seemed strangely demure about what he had done to the man and the reason why was proven as the man's form crumbled into wood.

'_A Moku Bunshin..._' Naruto thought as the clone disintegrated into nothingness before his eyes widened as he felt himself sink into the soft, muddy earth below him. '_So the whole time he's been planning this._' Naruto thought as he sunk further into the muddy pool of earth. He was almost to his waist before a thought struck him and he hurled all his chains toward several trees, wounding them around the trees and using it to pull himself out of the ground. He looked around, noting the ANBU captain's lack of presence before Naruto raised all his chains high into the air before plunging them one by one into the earth. He pulled them and drove them once more and it wasn't long before Tenzo came out of the melded out of the ground.

Naruto stared at the man irritatingly, it had been this back and forth and he was growing quite tired of it. The man was a Ninjutsu specialist, that much was certain and the level of Ninjutsu at his disposal were outrage it seemed, more than even his own if you didn't count his Dojutsu. However Naruto knew that they had to end this sooner rather than later and currently he was running out of options about how to do so.

The older man threw his arm back, grabbing it as it exploded into action by sending numerous trees flying toward Naruto. "Mokuton: Jubaku Eisou!" They branched out as they got closer, forking out into many branches while their edges bared into sharp stakes which looked all set to turn Naruto's body into a bulls eye mark.

Naruto channelled and saturated his hands with lightning Chakra, a few sparks crackling above his skin as he met the masked man's technique head on. His chains lashed out wildly, cutting through the wooden branches like they were made of butter. The few that snuck in Naruto raised his hands, cutting through them effortlessly and after a while all that remained were thousands of tiny splinters falling to the ground.

Tenzo's chest heaved up and down slightly and Naruto could note that the man was suddenly reaching his end, but so was he unfortunately. He concluded that the next attack would end the battle and as he had said he wouldn't resort to his tenant's Chakra, he knew he would've to use something powerful. Not an enhanced or powered up version of Shinra Tensei or even trying something worse off, like his most powerful gravity Jutsu, it had to be something which wouldn't leave him drained beyond the point of help.

Tenzo breathed out a thin line of breath as his Chakra spiked for what Naruto assumed would be a high Chakra taxing technique and the man held his hand in the snake hand seal. His rather low Chakra would be up for one more Jutsu and knowing that breaking through Naruto's defence would be next to none, he was going to attempt something else entirely. Something he had never tried before in terms of offensive attack, "Mokuton: Jukai Koutan!" The earth and expanse surrounding both Naruto and Yamato cracked at varying positions and Naruto's eyes widened as tall trees grew instantly and exploded out of the ground. There were so many that Naruto couldn't count and they all unfurled as seemingly all around them another forest surrounded them, with the new acquisitions bending previously existing trees as they filled the space around them. All of them had their sights on Naruto, snapping at him and trying to ensnare him with their grips.

Naruto felt another tree wound itself around his back and panickingly the blond used his chain to hurl it away, using more of them to swat more of the trees as they lashed at him. One of the trees smacked into Naruto with its large bark, sending him and his chains into the emerging forest Tenzo's technique was creating. Naruto collided against one of the numerous trees, and almost immediately Tenzo's trees were on him, coiling and making squeaking noises as they wrapped around his form and kept him tied to the bark of the tallest one in the bunch.

Sweat travelled down Tenzo's masked face, as he exerted his whole focus on getting the trees to manoeuvre toward Naruto, "I h-have to end this right now." Tenzo grumbled lowly as his breathing now came out in erratic and quick intakes and exhales of air. He began stalking toward Naruto with stumbling steps, bending trees in his way with his ability before Naruto was once more in his sight.

Naruto attempted to force his chains to move but much to his horror, succeeded in only making them twitch with a jingle of metal. "Come on damn it," Naruto grunted in frustration as he tried his best to will his chains into motion, finding limited success. He could feel his consciousness slipping as whatever Chakra he had left was siphoned by the trees binding him to the bark of the tall tree, "I c-can't be t-taken…ba.." Naruto's head lolled and his eyes closed shut as he felt a tug on his mind.

Naruto blinked repeatedly as he felt a warm stream of air wash against his form once every few seconds. He felt numbed, tired rather and there was a noise, remarkably sounding like breathing and low grumbles which were loud against his ears. He raised his head to come face to face with the Kyuubi which stared at him disapprovingly with gleaming eyes and bared teeth, "**Fool, as always I have to save your sorry ass.**"

Chakra seeped through the golden chains lining the seal and into Naruto who let out a low groan as it entered his system. The chains around the seal glowed once more as they fed on the Bijuu's Chakra, growing much thicker and greater in size and illuminating the interior of the mindscape with a glowing and bright orange Chakra that was a mixture of the Bijuu's Chakra and Naruto's own.

"**Now get out of my sight, I cannot stand the mewling sight of you.**" The Bijuu flicked its clawed hand dismissively and Naruto felt a hard tug in the back of his head that snapped him out of the seal. He opened his eyes to see the blurry sight of the ANBU captain staring at him from a distance with a wary stare.

Tenzo grumbled wearily as Chakra exploded out of Naruto, several more chains, thicker and of a darker orange colour coming out of him and piercing through the trees binding him. Naruto stood up slowly, staring at himself in a somewhat inspecting manner.

The blond flexed his hand with his eyes closing as if he absorbed the feeling of himself, before he began running through hand seals, ending on the bird seal. Tenzo felt as the earth all around them rumbled loudly. The chains surrounding Naruto lowered to the ground, lining together in a circular manner and forming a strange bowl before lightning ignited atop their tips, growing and crackling wildly as the stream of lightning fused together and Tenzo could see the phantom of a lightning dragon slowly haze into existence.

The loud crackling and booming of lightning reverberated loudly through the forest, as Naruto's technique grew in height and intensity. The crackling halted as Naruto's technique completed, and before Tenzo stood a three-headed lightning dragon, made completely of lightning and so bright that it blinded Tenzo to focus his gaze upon it. Naruto forced more Chakra through his chains into it, making it elevate higher in height and raising it to a daunting height of twelve feet while it also covered a wide space. It was densely saturated with Chakra and Tenzo could see that it was somewhat unstable, almost like an exploding shadow clone.

The ANBU captain knew that thing hit him it was over, but somehow finding strength in himself to force movement seemed strangely foreign to him. Naruto raised his head to stare fully at the man, "Lightning Release: Great White Disperse Frenzy!" Naruto announced loudly and proudly as the dragon before himself roared with crackling noises, before Naruto hurled it toward Tenzo who prepared to stumble himself out of the way.

The dragon swept toward Tenzo who jumped out of the way as it flew past him, however upon doing so noticed Naruto make a hand seal, "Disperse!" The blond proclaimed and the masked man's eyes widened to outrageous proportions behind his mask as the Jutsu pulsated brightly. Naruto dispersed the dragon and Tenzo cursed as thousands upon thousands of lightning waves and streams filled the whole space around them, lashing at everything and absorbing Tenzo into the mixture.

The man screamed loudly as the many waves of lightning electrocuted him endlessly. He gritted his teeth as he felt his skin crawling with lightning, his senses being charged with venomous stimuli and causing his toes and other body parts to curl up in painful euphoria. His eyes drooped from the excessive electrocution as he collapsed to the ground before Naruto yanked him out with one of his chains, saving the man from possible death.

Naruto dropped Tenzo a few feet from himself. The man looked worse for wear, with his clothing torn in various places and the mask he had worn having fell off his face when he got struck by Naruto's Jutsu. He was heaving for breath and his skin was a darkened shade of colour, with numerous scratches lining it. His ANBU flak-jacket had come off and a leg portion had been torn off his pants, exposing his left leg.

The man spun his head to stare at Naruto confusedly, his lips dry and his almond eyes sullen, "You didn't kill me." It wasn't a question but Naruto could feel the surprise in the man's voice, "Why?" The brown-haired man asked hoarsely with baggy eyes.

"Because you were doing what you thought was right." Naruto began as he looked into the air, the chains clanking behind his back as they disappeared back into him with a hue of Chakra. He stared at Tenzo or rather Kinoe as Naruto knew him with a somewhat sombre expression, "You never had any intention to hurt anyone, like Root."

Silence passed through both men as they stared at each other, "So you did kill indeed kill all of Danzo-sama's men." The man muttered softly as he turned his gaze to stare up into the sunlit sky, "Were you a different person then or were you fighting to kill?"

"I was the same, the only difference between then and now is that then I was fighting to kill." Naruto explained to the man who coughed out before he nodded his head in understanding.

He still bemoaned his defeat though, silently and mentally but he knew that Naruto had proven stronger than he was in the ensuing, now concluded battle. It was a rather bitter pill to swallow when he took into consideration that this meant he had failed a mission, a high S-rank mission and Tenzo hated failure, he wasn't for it. He knew that trek back home would be surly and dull and that explaining the situation to the Hokage would be outrageously embarrassing and hard but he would take it on and accept whatever punishment handed to him professionally.

A noise to their left brought their attention toward the sight of two Naruto clones carrying both Kurenai and Anko respectively, with the two blissfully unconscious. The two clones dropped the two to the ground gently before stared at Naruto who nodded and they withered into black matter.

Silence past between Naruto and the unmoving Tenzo as Naruto just gazed into the distance, surprising the unmasked ANBU captain. "What are you waiting for? Are you not going to the bridge?" The man queried confusedly as he stared at Naruto who stared impassively with a thoughtful look.

"I'm waiting for the rest." Naruto replied simply and mere moments later six more clones emerged carrying the forms of the unconscious members of Tenzo's squad and the only conscious member being Asuma and one Anbu member who were levitating behind Naruto's fourth and fifth Rinne Bunshins. Naruto raised his hand as he lowered all of them to the ground before staring at the two aware members, "They will all be alright, they're just unconscious." All his clones disintegrated into fine black matter, leaving Naruto standing by himself with his sprawled former opponents staring at him.

"You must've all believed it would be easy, did you not?" Naruto asked while a mild frown pulled at his skin while he levelled the weary and immobile Asuma and Tenzo with his hard eyes, "That you would just walk out here and capture your priced trophy and all will be fine." He spat out bitterly as he stared at nothing of particular interest, just letting his gaze linger on the immeasurable blue canvas that was the sky.

"No Naruto, we simply want to help you." Tenzo replied softly through dried lips as he craned his neck to stare at Naruto.

"Do I look I need help? Do I?" he asked as his voice rose slightly, "All I want, is for you to leave me alone. I could kill all of you right now and be done with it." He narrowed his eyes slightly as he remembered his short talk with Tenzo, "But it wouldn't be worth the effort, but let this be a warning, that I want absolutely nothing to do with that village."

"I don't have anything that is of Konoha's anymore. What's inside me is mine. If you think it's yours, then I will give it back to you kindly." He then closed his eyes as some form of mirthless amusement aligned his features, "I'm sure the civilians of Konoha would really appreciate it."

"You wouldn't." The conscious Anbu beside Tenzo hissed lowly as the temperature seemed to drop all around them, some kind of cold freezing chill washing past them as they all understood the implicit threat that lingered in Naruto's words, '_I will release the Kyuubi_.'

"Keep trying me like me…" Naruto replied viciously as he trailed off at the end, "and I just might. Those old fossils in Konoha can forget ever owning a weapon, because I'm no one's war toy." Asuma and Tenzo appeared strangely mute toward Naruto's words as they just listened intently as Naruto let off some steam.

He turned around, and began walking away before he stopped with his back to them, "And tell this to your Hokage. If he still doesn't get the message, the next time, whomever he sends will return in body bags." Naruto navigated through the tree-filled area, ducking underneath several low branches and trees Tenzo had formed as he made his way toward the bridge, his overcoat forgotten briefly.

Asuma and Tenzo just stared at his back as he disappeared into behind the flock of trees until his silhouette was no longer visible. Asuma sighed as he clicked his tongue, "Just great. Now who is going to help us off our beat up asses?" he muttered as he stared at Kurenai who lay to his left, her visage strangely peaceful despite the scratches lining her face.

* * *

Naruto sped down the dense forest, exerting his already agitated reserves as he hauled himself toward the bridge with desperate urgency. The Konoha Shinobi had managed to slow him down significantly but luckily he could still feel large Chakra signatures and one he recognized to be Haku's coming from the direction of the bridge. He increased his speed and soon he found himself standing on the edge of a cliff and in the distance ahead of him was the great bridge, shrouded by a dense haze of mist.

He ran through handseals with abrupt urgency before he jumped off of the cliff, the wind whipping harshly against his form as he made the hundred or so feet drop before he called out the name of his Jutsu, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" the large cloud of red smoke appearing underneath him with his legs landing on the broad shoulders of Jinyancha's falling form. Without the need for words, the Jinn boss summon transformed into a giant brown eagle with ember eyes and took off with mighty beats of its wings, going so quickly that the air behind it rippled.

The air swayed and pulsated behind the two as the distance between them and the great Nami Bridge gradually shortened and with their close proximity Naruto could hear the sounds of chirping birds or what felt like two thunderbolts rubbing against each other. The sound was preceded by a spike of Chakra and it grew stronger along with the loud noise and alert alit upon his visage as it could only mean someone had to be performing a dangerous technique but the mist made it difficult for him to see anything at all, just blurry hazes of Chakra.

Focusing more Chakra into his eyes he could see that one Chakra source was surrounded by a dozen while another sped toward them and it seemed vaguely familiar, in fact it was Haku's.

Naruto tore his head from the sight to stare at Jinyancha as they hovered above the bridge, "Let's blast this mist away and bust this whole thing." Jinyancha nodded and folded his wings before he unfurled them in one clean motion, releasing a rippling wave of wind which blew all the mist cloud and cover away.

As the cover of the mist lifted, Naruto's gaze locked onto the moving target of Haku who was sprinting toward Kakashi's own form just as the man raised his hand which was covered in lightning to plunge it into the restrained form of Zabuza and everything seemed to become in perfect focus, slowing down as Naruto caught Haku's intended target and goal, to intercept Kakashi's Jutsu.

Before he knew it, Naruto was on the move, futilely scurrying forth to stop Haku. A mirror of ice appeared before Haku and Kakashi and then impact. Blood flew out of the clash, splashing all over the ground and stopping Naruto instantly as the sight of the blood froze him.

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**And there it is folks, the longest chapter yet. I did not want to end it on another cliff-hanger but hey, I couldn't help it and beside it was now descending into ridiculously long territory. The next one won't be as long though so please don't expect any of that at all.**

**So please review it, tell me where you think the battles went wrong, if you think I overpowered Naruto or not and whether I did a good job at some aspect. Next Chapter I will be ending the wave arc, finally and then to follow will be a brief confrontation with three legendary Ninja and the Shion arc which will mix with some sort of strange crazy arc, yay! All sorts of crazy things and Yes, it's a spoiler but good news at last.**

**I had initially included the battle with Yugao but I felt that would be a bit overkill and thus I took it out, if you feel disappointed I'm sorry but this chapter served one purpose really and the chapter title pins it down. I felt so freaking tired after doing this I did not bother to check for spell errors, grammar or the likes and also there might be a few instances where I refer to Yamato as 'Yamato' which I shouldn't since he still doesn't have that codename yet.**

**He is just Tenzo at this stage and will be for the majority of the story. Compliment me if I did a good job though. Peace.**

**Immortal out…**

**Translations: quite a list huh?**

**Earth Release:**

**Doton: Doryuusou - Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears (Yamato)**

**Earth Release: Four Monolith wall (Naruto)**

**Fire Release: Naruto**

**Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu – Fire Release: Phoenix flower flame technique (Naruto)**

**Katon: Hirakajin no Yari – Fire Release: Flying Fire God Spear (Naruto)**

**Katon: Karyuu Endan – Fire Release: Dragon flame bullet (Naruto)**

**Katon: Ryuuka No Jutsu - Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique (Anko)**

**Lightning Release:**

**Great White Disperse Frenzy (ridiculous right? Exactly the kind of things I come up with)**

**Water Release:**

**Suiton: Hahonryuu – Water Release: Tearing Torrent (Yamato, Naruto)**

**Suiton: Suihachi- Water Release: Water Bowl (Yamato)**

**Suiton: Suijinheki – Water Release: Water Formation Wall (Yamato)**

**Wind Release:**

**Futon: Fuujin no Jutsu – Wind Release:** **Dust Cloud Technique (Asuma)**

**Futon: Shinkuu Taigyoku – Wind Release: Great Vacuum Sphere (Naruto)**

**Wood Release: Yamato**

**Moku Bunshin no Jutsu – Wood clone Technique**

**Mokuton: Daijurin no Jutsu - Wood Release: Great Forest Technique**

**Mokuton: Mokujouheki – Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall**

**Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu - Wood Release: Smothering Binding Technique**

**Mokuton: Jukai Koutan – Wood Release: Nativity of a Sea of Trees**

**Mokuton: Jubaku Eisou - Wood Release: Tree Bind Flourishing Burial**

**Mokuton: Jukai Heki - Wood Release: World of Trees Wall**

**Summoning Jutsu: Anko**

**Kuchiyose no Jutsu – Summoning Jutsu**

**Sen'eijashu – Hidden Shadow Snake Hands**

**Rinnegan: Naruto**

**Banshou Ten'in - Universal Pull**

**Banshou Ten'in: Rokku Yari – Universal Pull: Rock spears**

**Gakidou – Preta Path (Ghost realm)**

**Rinne Bunshin no Jutsu – Rinne Clone Jutsu**

**Shinra Tensei – Almighty Push**

**Shuradou – Asura Path**

**Clone or Replication Techniques:**

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone Technique**

**Rinne Bunshin no Jutsu – Samsara Clone Jutsu**

**Sealing Jutsu:**

**Detector Seal**

**Kaija Hoiin - Evil Releasing Method**

**Kongou Fuusa – Adamantine Sealing Chains**


	15. A conclusion: Tears of the Snow Princess

**Disclaimer: Immortal not own Naruto-san, it belongs to Kishimoto Masashi-Sensei. **

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**Wow, wow, wow. I have to say wow; the responses for the last chapter were mind blowing. I can't honestly express how truly happy I was to see all the positive reviews I got regarding the last chapter and it made me immediately start working on the next chapter while the good feeling still remained fresh in my mind. **

**The general consensus was, the chapter was great! The reviews had me in tears. **

**So thank you all! **

**Alright, first I would like to thank you all for the support since I did not properly do so in the last chapter note. Secondly, a reader by the name of 6thKazekage raised a very important point about Naruto in this story, his Jutsu? No duh, his character and personality. In this story, Naruto is OBVIOUSLY NOT the same as he is in Canon, however if you have read what I have been trying to do with his character you would see that it ****fluctuates**** between his Canonical personality and the one he adopts in the story, but the canon personality is very miniscule as compared to this one. **

**He is still Naruto, but he is a Naruto who is fighting to survive in the world that is dirty, filled with deception, lies and one he never got to see in Canon, it is not to prove a point to everyone. So he exudes this cold personality as some sort of defensive mechanism but he is still soft hearted and easily affected by emotions. I haven't changed much; I have just exposed and made him aware of 'his' world. The ****true**** meaning of his existence (Jinchuuriki) and the secrets kept from him at a young age. **

**I would say he is slightly mature and is not prone to sudden outbursts of excitability due to trying to remain inconspicuous and not draw attention to himself. **

**He hasn't fully grown yet and he is 'somewhat' arrogant, but he is not ignorant toward most things as he was in Canon. This story is about how he continuously explores his own character, grows and learns the true value of being powerful. He is not just running away from Konoha, but from himself. **

**I also hope to clear this point up, Naruto is not dark or evil, he is just cold. Thus tearing people apart while he is conscious of it is not something he would do. **

**So I had this really crazy idea about creating a Transformers fanfic which overlaps age of extinction. I toyed with it for a while and then decided it was crazy, I couldn't possibly do it. The problem I found was that due to my never reading the comics, I knew practically next to nothing. I will post it to my profile and you can see it for yourself and if you believe it usable then tell me. **

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_Best Review (s) for the last chapter came from__: _

_ThaMercenary \- __Ah, I had forgotten the sheer beauty that is The One Who Saw Hell! It's such an underrated story that displays skill equal to the best authors on this site. This is probably my favourite story overall (maybe tying with The Raikage, but this has better grammar, so this wins) and it is truly a masterpiece. I look forward to seeing the next update, and good luck!_

_**Hmm, I don't know about that, since I don't like comparing myself to other authors out there but I am glad to see that you regard my story that much highly. Thank you for the support and for keeping me writing. **_

_Fromaster24 \- __Good to see a new chapter after some time. I normally would question how Naruto could take out ANBU level opponents, but seeing how he's got rinnegan and Danzo's experience from absorbing his soul it isn't too surprising. Was hoping to see the events on the bridge but this makes sense happening first. I like how cynical Naruto is towards the idea of Konoha, not many fics do that, him resisting much that is, or how many just send him back because he "feels" for the place after either banishing him or trying to outright murder him. Don't get me wrong, canon Naruto would do that, too forgiving if you ask me, but in AU when he's cold and usually bitter, makes no sense yet people do it anyway for the sake of a romance with a Konoha shinobi. But, I'm rambling, good chapter hopefully won't be too long for the next one, my anticipation becomes too much at times though it is understandable that this isn't top priority, fanfic being a hobby for most and real life being top priority. Keep up the good work._

_**Now your review covers a wider scope and it shows your wide understanding of the story in general. Your reviews have been invaluable and I appreciate how you've stuck with this story for as long as you have, offering suggestions and praising its good points. So thanks very much.**_

_The Benevolent Scriber __\- I was very impressed with your latest fight scene. It was extremely fluid and made sense to me. Naruto wasn't impeded from using his full powers for plot reasons. Something Kishimoto is very famous for doing._

_The Rinne Bunshin is also quite interesting, it also showed that Shinra tensei isn't an "I win button" but a tool like any other to be used sparingly. His use of it to break up their team work and defeat them individually was a simple but effective tactic. The fact that he has such a versatile bunshin at his command was a critical point for the plans completion, using Shadow Bunshin would not have achieved the same effect._

_His battle with Tenzo was also quite interesting it also showed that in this universe Tenzo has been forced to develop more than in the canon verse; originally attacks like the Jukai Koutan would have been beyond him. This shows that the characters in your fic are not going to be stagnant and will progress._

_Now Haku's death; it would be a prime situation for him to learn the Rinne tensei jutsu however I would spin it an interesting way after the battle is over and Zabuza is dead. Say he did bring Haku back, would she wish to continue living with her master dead and having betrayed Naruto? In her view life would have little meaning; perhaps the jutsu would even fail having an unwilling receiver? All those we have seen the jutsu used on are people that I can imagine wishing to live again ergo they have unfinished business. Haku? Not so much._

_Some people will wish to stay dead I can imagine Haku is one of them. _

_**To the general readers and reviewers, I appreciate you. Yes, I do very much…**_

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**Chapter 14: A conclusion: Tears of the Snow Princess **

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Kakashi rushed toward Zabuza, adrenaline charging through his veins like the most flammable of fluids as he saw only one thing in his line of vision, the heavily restrained form of Zabuza. The cover of the mist was still thick but with Zabuza pinned down by Kakashi's Ninken it was slowly lifting off due to the man's loss of control over the Jutsu. Kakashi's Raikiri illuminated the mist covered bridge, being visible as a hazy source of light within the white cover of the mist from a distance. Kakashi dragged his violently vibrating blade of lightning along the air as he relished the impending impact, blue and white sparks of lightning crackling all around his arm. The copy Nin knew it was going to be bloody but he couldn't bring himself to care, Zabuza deserved what was to befall him.

He didn't notice the crack on the earth before the mist crystalized as he brought his hand up, thrusting it forward. There was a brief halt in time as Kakashi seemed to slow down and then, impact. Kakashi's eye widened as his hand tore straight through a mirror of ice which had materialized in between his Raikiri and Zabuza from a crack on the ground.

A resultant shockwave of air came out of the clash in the same time as a harsh wind blew apart the veil of mist covering the bridge from the airborne duo of Naruto and Jinyancha. Blood splattered against Kakashi's masked face as his eyes finally registered the somewhat petrified gaze of Haku who blinked once and twice, still not registering the pain racking through her body. The ice mirror was painted red with Haku's blood while Kakashi's hand was hacked right through the crystal mirror and into Haku's chest, the ice mirror having diverted the attack from her heart by only a few inches. Nonetheless the blow was fatal and Haku's breath fell by a few notches as her breathing laboured.

She splattered globs of blood to the ground, the red liquid washing over the cement ground as it dripped off of her lips and her chest.

There was a squelching noise as Kakashi slid his hand mechanically off Haku's chest, his eyes still twitching with shock as he stared at the shocked 'boy'. Zabuza was not faring no better himself as his eyes were also wide shockingly, blood splattered all over his heavily wrapped face as well.

A distance away, an inconspicuous and unnoticed Naruto was in a similar situation, his body hard as stone and unresponsive to his demands to make the slightest of movements.

"NOOOOOOO!" A terrifying scream tore out of Naruto's throat; muting all that had been happening on the bridge and drawing everyone's attention to the sight of a giant brown eagle hovering just over the edge of the bridge. All six gazes of the conscious members on the bridge flew toward the airborne creature to see it dispel in a plump of smoke and the figure of Naruto drop to the ground.

Red…

A lot of red…

Dripping with vengeful globs to the ground and falling off the lips of a wide-eyed Haku. Her chest was torn apart as well and the blood just helped itself down her form carelessly.

It was splashed all over the ground and his gaze was locked onto it and he couldn't pull it back. Snapping his eyes was inconceivably hard and the red's terrifying sight mesmerized him and he was lot in its sickening haze. His heart seemed to have taken a short break from its natural activity, labouring off somewhere Kami knows not a bloody thing about. Time seemed strangely strained and brought down by a few notches; as ever so slowly it proceeded about its duty, prolonging the sight before him and allowing him to catch everything with the eye of a hawk, from the moment the hand of Kakashi went right through Haku, to how her eyes widened at hearing his scream.

Haku's bloodshot eyes twisted toward him with the slowness he had come to associate with the strange slow motion of events. Blood flew out of her mouth as she seemed disbelieving of her own fate or was it his appearance which had her startled? Either way, he found himself frozen, every fibre of muscle within his body lost to his command and the only functioning thing about him being nothing truly significant. Her wide brown orbs refused to leave Naruto's form and she seemed to have been taken by surprise by his sudden appearance as regret tugged at her features and her eyes.

"N-Naruto?" Kakashi exclaimed with abject shock marring his visage at the countenance of the blond who stood no more than twenty metres from them, wide-eyed. Only one thought went through Kakashi's mind at the sight of Naruto, 'Minato-sensei'. The blond had grown, now standing tall, clad in a black long-sleeved shirt with which had its three gnomes unbuttoned and exposing his chest. His blond hair fell over his eyes and Kakashi felt as if he was staring at the copy of his old teacher once more and perhaps he was.

Naruto did not register the shocked tone of Kakashi as his eyes were fixed upon the face of Haku who stared back at him through sad, apologetic eyes. Naruto saw as the man with the massive broadsword pulled his butcher knife-like blade from his back tightly by the handle as if he had suddenly been snapped from his stupor, lifting it up murderously as he looked to capitalize on everyone's shock to cleave straight through Haku and Kakashi and the sight just angered him. He felt angry, he felt absolutely angry and red-hot anger built up gradually within his veins, festering and growing and before he knew it he was seeing red. He moved and with speed defying quickness, found himself between Haku and Zabuza as the latter brought his sword to cut through both Kakashi and Haku.

Zabuza's eyes widened as a blond blur flared into view in front of his eyes before Naruto caught his sword with a single hand and Zabuza felt a cold chill pass through his spine as he met Naruto's red eyes, lined with multiple circular rings and with a single tomoe inside them, peering right through him. A large chain exploded out of Naruto, whipping through the air menacingly and quickly and wrapping itself tightly around the former Kiri Nin's neck before it seamlessly and effortlessly elevated him into the air, his feet leaving the ground without much of a hitch.

Naruto cast the broad sword aside as he peered coldly with his eyes at Zabuza who struggled, his feet dangling off the ground while he clutched at the large chain choking the life out of him. Naruto gazed at the man, somehow feeling dissatisfied about this manner of killing him. He wanted to make him suffer; feel every second of his life slipping away and squirm helplessly before he would move on to Kakashi. He was going to kill both of them.

He froze as he felt a slightly cold hand grab his own from behind and slowly he twisted his neck to see Haku staring at him with sad, drooping brown orbs, blood carelessly flowing out of her gaping chest. How she was able to move Naruto had no idea, and the sight of her made his eyes widen in some form of surprise as he had forgotten all about her in his rage.

"St-stop, p-please," she rasped out inaudibly as her grip on his arm faltered in strength. She tried to move and ended up tripping over her own legs, falling atop Naruto and causing him to drop to the ground with Haku atop him.

Naruto felt the anger in his heart ebbing away as she gazed at him, her formerly big and round chocolate brown orbs merely pitiful slits with bags under them, but still so mesmerizing they caused him to drop Zabuza to the ground as the Chakra chains disappeared into him.

Naruto stared at Haku with eyes squinted in sadness, "W-why?" yes, it was always that question with him. The case of why had dominated the major portion of his life. He had believed he had understood to an extent the reason for some of the nonsense in his life but it still eluded and escaped him like the rare sighting of a comet. Right now he couldn't accept that he would lose Haku, it was as incomprehensible as it was inevitable. Was reality playing a trick on him or was this Genjutsu? It had to be an illusion for he had been with Haku just yesterday and this could only be a part of some terrible illusion conjured up to make him suffer.

All forms of rationality had left him and he closed his eyes. It was all a nightmare, all a horrible dream. He attempted to make himself believe that he was back in the Inn asleep, with Haku by his side after a night of passionate lovemaking because it was all he could do. Reality would not tear another loved one from him, it couldn't.

So he closed his eyes shut and muttered why, shutting off the sting at the corner of his eyes that he identified had to be tears which he knew would just make everything feel so real if he paid them any heed. He would close his eyes and the nightmare would end very soon and he would have Haku in his hands yet again for the person above him couldn't be her.

"N-Naruto-kun," that soft voice sounded so absolutely real, so like Haku's but he couldn't allow himself to open his eyes and see her die before them. It was childish but he was still very much a child himself and all the maturity he had amassed couldn't prepare him for this yet again. Those eyes of hers, so once full of life, so soulful and pensively sad were now pale and ghostly and Naruto was reminded of Hotaru once more again, how even in her death she had tried to remain strong for him.

"P-please open your eyes," Haku's soft voice whispered as her head fell atop his chest, her neck twisting so that she was staring at the side of his neck. He felt as her hand caressed his cheek through the fabric of his scarf yet again, "I-I w-wish… t-to see them one last time." He couldn't do it and risk the suffering. See her eyes slump forever into the back of her head as the Shinigami welcomes yet another of his loved ones. However he felt as something damp and warm fell against his skin and it triggered his memories yet again.

_Flashback _

"_Goodbye, Naruto-kun." Her fading voice just barely reached his sensitive ears before blissful unconsciousness warped him into its welcoming arms. _

_The last thing he felt was a cold watery smear trail down his skin as he warped into the depths of unconsciousness._

_After that, he knew nothing but darkness. _

_Flashback End _

Haku had to be shedding tears for him again, or was it their situation? Slowly but surely he felt himself giving in and his eyes peered open. Twisting his head to stare at Haku whose own head was resting on his chest, she surprised him by smiling but it was a phantom of a smile and lacking the necessary gleam that would enchant him on every day. Now it just made him feel pity for her, for himself. His teeth clenched in anger, hardening but still not managing to wipe the smile off of Haku's face, "Why did you betray me?" He asked her softly.

"T-To p-protect…what is prec-cious to oneself," she began in a stuttering low voice with tears streaming shamelessly off her smiling visage, "we sometimes m-must sacrif-fice our heart's desire." Naruto was confused as evidenced by the soft scrunching of his brows. Haku poked Naruto's chest with her trembling hand, "I-I'm s-sorry I sacrificed yours." A long soulful breath escaped her lips before her hand fell atop Naruto's chest and her form went lax, the warmth in it slowly diminishing while the light in her eyes switched off. Naruto closed his eyes as he took her head to his face, resting his face against it and taking in the smell of her long hair which she hadn't kept in her bun. He felt as his chest trembled and before long tears made their way down his cheeks leisurely as he wept silently.

Haku was gone…

It was gut-wrenching and unfair what she did to him and he hated her for betraying his trust, their trust and for leaving him but at the same time, he couldn't diminish the feelings of love and affection he held for her. He loved her. That he was very much sure of as of this moment. He missed her and he wished to have her back, not this cold lifeless shell of her past self. It was not fair, absolutely unfair that she got to leave him. He felt heartbroken, enraged even and the pain in his heart was replaced by a dark, bottomless need for vengeance, for blood. His form trembled as he lay on his back, Haku's head resting and pulled into crook of his neck while he wept.

Kakashi and surprisingly Zabuza stared at the blond with somewhat empathetic eyes, with the former still unsure of how to approach the blond over what had happened. Everything was hazy and very hard to absorb or digest within even his mind. The fact that the boy Haku was a girl, that she had fell in love with the one person he had been hoping to see for over five years or that he had just killed that very girl, ripping her away from Naruto. He had not an ounce of an idea how he was to apologise or even approach Naruto. What was he to say and who was to say Naruto wouldn't react violently. The boy had just manhandled Zabuza like he was some green behind the ears Genin.

Naruto's head slowly turned around to stare at Kakashi, who blanched at seeing the red in those light purple rippled orbs return. Slowly red diluted the light purple colour in Naruto's, his eyes turning a dark vermillion red as he mechanically made it to his feet, resting Haku's body absently on the concrete flooring, "**You!**" Surprisingly the voice came out as slightly above a whisper but it reached Kakashi's ears loud enough, the venom and wave of death rolling off the blonde's murderous tone making the hairs on Kakashi's skin rise in sheer fright.

Naruto took a step toward the copy ninja, a shroud of vermillion red Chakra exploding out of him and surrounding him, his mere feet digging into the cement below his feet as the Chakra melted all that Naruto made contact with. "**You!**" Naruto repeated, his voice sounding surer and louder this time as he stalked slowly toward Kakashi, a ghoulish of an expression on his blank face, "**You're from…Konoha.**" Naruto finished as he shortened the distance between himself and Kakashi, the copy Ninja being too shocked to do anything or make any movement as he merely stood from where he had been when he struck Haku, "**You're from Konoha.**"

"Naruto…" Kakashi trailed off as Chakra exploded out of Naruto, taking on the form of wild, vermillion chains of Chakra which swirled nightmarishly in the sky above the bridge, the intense rise in killing intent flooring both Sakura and Tazuna to the ground from where they stood.

"**I will kill you!**" Naruto snarled out angrily. Naruto's Chakra chains lurched forward like a spring, closing the short distance of a few feet between him and Kakashi before wrapping around said man and yanking him toward Naruto who caught the man by his throat with a hard, rough grip, the strength of it making him scream out as he felt Naruto's Chakra burn his skin. A fist dug into Kakashi's torso with a loud impact, lifting the man off the ground momentarily as his eyes widened from a loss of oxygen.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" the loud concern-filled voice of Sakura reached him as the girl gazed toward Kakashi and Naruto with wide eyes from where she lay on the ground after the release of Naruto's killing intent. "Sai help him." The pink-haired Genin twisted her neck to stare behind her, calling out tearfully as she gazed toward her fellow teammate, a young boy with dark hair and especially pale skin, clad in a small black overtop, purple long-sleeved undershirt and long black pants with matching sandals.

Said pale skinned boy was on his knees, pulling out a Senbon out of his knee with trembling hands. He directed his gaze toward his Sensei to see him in the firm grip of Naruto whose eyes burned murderously as he assaulted the man. Sai attempted to force himself to his feet but he couldn't move. The effects of that masked hunter-nin's Senbon still had him numbed and unable to move his left leg entirely. Sasuke was out cold as he hadn't been able to deal with Haku's constant attacks. Sai concluded that the girl wasn't truly attempting to kill them but only knock them out cold but surmised that they had made it difficult for her.

Naruto dug his knee into Kakashi's ribs while Zabuza watched on with wide eyes at the sight of his nemesis being manhandled by the strange boy, Haku's boy. A black blade of sorts ripped out of Naruto's palm before he dug it straight into and through Kakashi's shoulder with the copy Ninja letting out a particularly loud scream of pain. Kakashi was however no stranger to pain but this was no normal pain however, it hurt like hell. Whatever the black blade was, it was not normal.

"Naruto…" Kakashi choked out as Naruto's chains dropped him to the ground on his knees, however with left his hand held in a fierce, unrelenting grip of Naruto's own who stood above the man.

Naruto stared at the Konoha Jounin with cold, calculating and murderous eyes,"**You killed Haku. I won't forgive you.**" The blond responded as another rod appeared within his palm, this one having an especially sharper edge.

"It wasn't meant for her." Kakashi grunted out with a blank tone as blood fell out of the wound on his shoulder, falling to the ground in small drips. His eyes rested on the ground while Naruto stared down at his back, still fiercely holding him by the hand.

"**And he will die too.**" Naruto did not turn to regard Zabuza as he exclaimed those terse few words, disturbing the former swordsman whose eyes widened.

"Do you think Haku would condone what you are doing here?" Kakashi questioned as his breaths came out shallow and forced as the searing pain had him gritting his teeth in pain. Sweat fell down his brows which twitched unconsciously to rid itself of the natural body moisture.

Naruto was strangely quiet for a second before his features hardened once more, "**She is dead, and she made her choice. She will have to accept that killing both of you is my own.**"

Kakashi was saved from his impending fate by the sound of wood hitting the ground. Naruto glanced back, Kakashi and Zabuza doing the same as they all set their sights on the new presences, a short plump man with puffy brown hair wearing small black glasses and clad in a black suit and tie stood on the other side close to the edge of the bridge, a horde of thugs standing behind him with wild, cocky grins and large distinct weapons, with the heavier ones resting on the shoulders of the men. His hand was held in cast from what Naruto assumed had to be an injury caused by a broken arm or something close to that sort.

Naruto twisted his neck to look behind with his iron grip still on Kakashi's wrist. His eyes narrowed at the sight of the man before him, not exactly his most favourable person. In fact he was third on his list of people to kill and the arrogant sneer that the man adorned just made Naruto's blood boil.

Zabuza's eyes narrowed as he stared at the short-statured man, "Gatou," Zabuza began gruffly and Naruto's eyes narrowed further at the mention of the name, "Why are you here and what is the meaning of all this?"

"Ah Zabuza. Unfortunately, for you, there has been a slight change in plans. According to the new plan, you and that bitch of yours die right here on this bridge." The man said in a dark tone, and Kakashi noted the twitching of Naruto's hand wrapped around his wrist.

"What was that?" Zabuza asked as his eyes widened dangerously at this sudden show of betrayal.

"I decided that your services are no longer required. You're much too expensive, although even these thugs cost something." The man said as he pointed to the horde of greedy goons behind him with his head, "I would really appreciate it if you slaughter a few of them for me, that is, before they take you down."

"If that won't be too much of a hassle for you, Kiri no Kijin?" The man mocked before he chuckled darkly, "Ha, look at you Zabuza. You look about as demonic as a wet kitten." He concluded with a grin on his face, evoking laughter from his batch of thugs.

Naruto let go of Kakashi's hand as Gatou moved toward where Haku's body was, his cane creating soft knocks against the ground.

"While we're on that thought," The man began as he stared down at Haku's deceased form, "I would like to thank whoever saw it fit to get rid of this bitch. I still can't forgive her for nearly breaking my arm." The man said as he poked the cheek of Haku with his foot. He tilted his head as if to get a better look at Haku, "Still though, can't deny she was a looker. It's a pity she is dead, I would've found some use for her after these boys kill you." He revealed darkly as he ran his foot over Haku's chest, particularly over where her still developing and womanly round pieces of flesh.

"Regardless," He kicked pulled his leg back as he prepared to dig a kick into Haku's form. What everyone never saw coming was Naruto's disappearance. He appeared just before Gatou could inflict any damage to it, the short man's leg kicking at nothing but air and causing him to momentarily lose his posture.

Gatou snarled as Naruto disappeared and laid Haku close to where Tazuna and Sakura stood, staring at her with a blank expression on his face and his back turned to everyone else.

"Hey you little punk," Gatou began with a snarl as he stared at the silent Naruto who was only a few metres from the plump business magnate, "Bring that little piece of shit back here. You will end up like her if you mess with me." The man threatened in a loud tone but his threat fell on deaf ears as Naruto gave no visible response to his statement.

"Boss, I will take care of this one." One of the men with his head wrapped up heavily, a scarred face and beard, carrying a large sword which he had planted on his shoulders said with an evil grin on his face.

"Make sure you do, don't kill him though…" The man chuckled ominously as his dark shades glowed in some form of sick satisfaction, "He will get the Kaiza treatment." All the man behind Gatou smirked dangerously as they pulled their weapons out.

Kakashi and Zabuza nodded to each other as they prepared to take on the mob of thugs along with Naruto. Kakashi was still on his knees, struggling to move his shoulder which had Naruto's black Chakra receiver planted through it. Kakashi grabbed at the sturdy metal, feeling the strange humming vibration it gave off. Kakashi grit his teeth as he grunted loudly as he used all his remaining strength to pull the black rod out, experiencing surprise at how hard it was to accomplish the task. With a shallow scream Kakashi pulled the annoyance out, letting it fall to the ground with a clang of steel while blood began pouring freely out of the wound. His breathing was hard and laboured but he soon reined it in as he struggled to his feet with one hand nursing the injured one.

The copy Nin shut his Sharingan eye to preserve what little Chakra he had left, pulling out a Kunai from his pouch with his functioning arm. He couldn't believe the hardness of that strange blade or the fact that it had paralysed him temporarily, depositing Naruto's Chakra into his body. Kakashi was still struggling to digest how powerful Naruto seemed, or his rather array of strange techniques. He had seen these transmitters back in Konoha from the many that Tenzo and his ANBU squad had collected off of the bodies of Danzo's Root, confirming the suspicion they all had about Naruto being the cause of the former separate Anbu division of Konoha's demise. Not that they were all gloomy and sad about it though.

"Kakashi, toss me one of those." Zabuza demanded in a gruff tone as he stood behind the copy Nin who tossed a Kunai toward him, the man catching it with his hand. The two men stalked forward just as Gatou's thugs took off toward them with a loud cry of war in shouted in unison.

All the charging members of Gatou's thugs and the Shinobi duo they were attacking were brought to a stuttering halt by a wild, earth churning spike of Chakra. Kakashi and Zabuza tore their gazes back with wide eyes to stare at the direction where it had come from, seeing a haze of red bubbling of Naruto who was still knelt on the ground staring at the deceased Haku. Gatou's thugs trembled in their knees as an intense, insatiable bloodlust washed over the bridge, bringing some of them to their knees. Multiples red phantoms of chains seeped out of Naruto, lazily flickering and flicking themselves in the sky above him.

Naruto stood up abruptly with red eyes blazing with fury, the rings within them vibrating with power and an intense thirst for blood. He raised his hand as a demonic expression took hold of his visage and everyone felt the hairs on their skin rise before he slammed it on the ground, "**KUCHIYOSE**…" The bridge shook violently, the various pillars supporting it underneath snapping as the sea below and everything else rumbled loudly as Naruto initiated loudly, "**GEDOU MAZOU**!" A shockwave of air erupted with an abrupt suddenness that took everyone by surprise, pushing even the seasoned figures of Zabuza and Kakashi who were using Chakra to stick to the surface back, their hands held in front of their eyes to block the worst of the rippling wind.

* * *

**(Elsewhere)**

In a large, darkened cavern with dimmed lighting and with unreachable and insurmountable roofing, an orange-haired man stood calmly with an unperturbed gaze sketched upon his features heavily pierced features. His light purple, impassive rippled eyes roamed the figure of a handcuffed monolith of a wooden statue seated atop a great lotus flower that bloomed from atop a giant tree. It had a blindfold covering its eyes and long spiky protrusions on its head, arms and ankles shackled together by restraints and some strange form of decayed and earthen-looking robe over its form which matched its colour completely and could be taken for part of its wooden skin.

The walls surrounding the man which were once filled with an unshakable, creepy and disturbing silence now shook violently as the great earthen-coloured humanoid giant vibrated intensely.

A swirl appeared in the air beside the orange-haired Rinnegan bearing individual before a man masked in an orange spiral mask and a similar long dark cloak with a red cloud pattern materialised. The mask had one single hole for lone visible eye, which was red with three tomoe surrounding the pupil. His eye went to the statue and immediately it narrowed with interest and at the same time a sense of danger.

"What is happening to it?" The orange-haired man questioned calmly without an inflection of emotion in his strong voice as he stared forward impassively at the terrifying giant.

The man in the spiral patterned mask narrowed his lone visible Sharingan eye thoughtfully as he attempted to figure out what it could be that was causing the statue unrest. His eye returned to normal as he finally pieced it all together, a low mirthless chuckle escaping his lips, "Someone is attempting to summon the statue," He proclaimed calmly but one could sense the ire hidden deep in his voice, "This can only mean one thing…" He said calmly, trailing off at the end as he closed his eye.

"There exists another Rinnegan wielder." The rippled eyed man hummed to himself, not at all displaying any form of worry at this newly discovered threat or rather fact. He was just as blank as sheet, impassible and extraordinarily aloof.

"Should this strange new presence get a hold of the Gedou Mazou," The masked man began with an air of silent contemplation about him, "Our plans will be all but derailed."

"Then finding this 'God' hidden among us shall have to become top priority, amongst the Bijuu." The man with the Rinnegan eyes said tersely, watching the statue let out one last loud shriek before it disappeared in a daunting cloud of smoke which swept wind against the forms of the two men.

"Yes, which is why I will send Zetsu to follow the trail left by the summoning." He concluded calmly before his eye narrowed dangerously, "Should this person to prove themselves a threat…" he trailed off, spinning around to stare at the other man beside him as he finally moved his gaze from where the giant humanoid statue had been mere moments prior.

The orange-haired man gazed into the darkened distance with a far-off stare as he understood what the man was asking, "Then I will eliminate them personally. A God to kill a God." He concluded himself before he began walking away swiftly, his soft, regal steps echoing throughout the empty and now noiseless space.

The man in the mask stared after him as he disappeared into the shadows of the cavern, "Yes, Tsuki no Me will not be stopped. Not by anyone, even 'Gods'." The man muttered lowly to himself as he slowly warped himself out of existence by some form of swirling distortion.

Regardless he wasn't actually worried, the statue would return once the summoning wore off. He reckoned that this had to be a situation similar to the one that occurred with Nagato. Nonetheless he would have his answers.

* * *

**(Nami no Kuni - The Bridge) **

There was a moment's respite before the earth vibrated with a loud heartbeat. The bridge was torn apart in half as a wide and long crack appeared in the middle of it, and a magnanimous, horned roundish appendage exploded from beneath the bridge, followed by a large hand and another which swept toward Gatou's men fiercely, slapping them high into the sky as the figure emerged fully to reveal the upper torso of a strange humanoid creature made of earth. The sight was terrifying, as the creature let out a wild, earth tearing scream that flung those unfortunate enough off the bridge.

Kakashi's eye widened at feeling an oppressive presence and power beyond human comprehension settle over the bridge. Whatever that thing was, it terrified Kakashi. For only the second time in his life, the copy Nin felt his knees trembling hard, and he glanced back to see that everyone else was in a similar position with only him and Zabuza seeming to be the only ones taking it well. Sakura though had just deposited her lunch to the ground and was holding her stomach, her eyes wide and tears vibrating at the corners of them. Even the most unemotional of his students Sai was visibly disturbed as one could tell from the expression of terror and fear he adorned.

"This won't end well." Kakashi exclaimed lowly with worry in his tone as he looked toward Zabuza who need not be told twice of the impending bloodbath in order to make himself scarce. "He will destroy the bridge at this rate, damn you Naruto." Kakashi cursed in a low tone to himself before he stowed his Kunai away and took off toward Tazuna and Sakura. He appeared before the shell-shocked man, who had a horrified look on his face, his eyes understandably wide with worry and pain at the sight of his now crumbling bridge.

Kakashi immediately assumed a stern posture as he gazed at his floored students, "Sakura, go grab Sasuke. I'll take Tazuna-san and Sai, we're evacuating the bridge." The man said strongly, leaving no point for argument as the remaining uninjured Genin of his team was snapped from her terrified stupor and into action, the tears falling down her face quickly being forgotten as well the fears she had about their deaths.

Tazuna was somewhat deaf toward the commanding voice of Kakashi as he stared toward the enraged Naruto who had a statue standing menacingly behind his back, its hand extended forward where it had Gatou's men flying backwards. The bridge let out a loud rumble as it shook once more, leaning on one side as the pillars supporting it from the other side snapped altogether.

Sakura ran toward her injured teammates, grabbing the unconscious Sasuke by his hand and slinging him over her shoulder, before she stumbled as the uneven surface of the bridge made it difficult for her to properly move. She balanced herself using Chakra, holding onto the raven-head's arm before she took a huge leap off the bridge. Kakashi created a clone as he took hold of Tazuna, lifting the man onto his back while his clone grabbed onto his pale skinned Genin, before taking off as their part of the bridge began descending into the water below. The two ran hard, the crumbling cracks of the bridge following after them as the blocks of earth fell into the water below.

Chaos was all round as Gatou's men lost their balance, falling into the water while some jumped off, screaming their lungs off.

A horrified Gatou looked toward the fleeing thugs as they all scurried away, running past him like he was an invisible apparition or forgotten child, jumping off and shoving each other off the bridge, their mission forgotten with their survival being on the forefront of their minds.

Gatou looked toward Naruto, whose head was bowed, the long blonde locks of hair shadowing his eyes which he lifted no more than a second later to stare toward the plump man who froze. A maniacal expression came upon Naruto's face at the sight of the man and the monolith behind him let out a long form of purple energy resembling a dragon from its mouth, which slithered toward Gatou and his retreating thugs. The business magnate closed his eyes and screamed out loudly only for the draconic energy to swerve past him, slamming and washing over his thugs in their mid-air plight from the bridge, the technique removing their souls from their bodies before they could even complete the fall into the water below.

Gatou opened his eyes shyly and looked around to find himself levitating in the air with Naruto's gaze locked firmly on him. Said short man was trembling, the spot between his pants wet while his glasses had fallen off, exposing his impressively wide eyes and twitching pupils. His mouth was hung open in child-like fright as he looked at Naruto's red, concentric ring eyes. The only thing that his rather fried mind could conjure up about the blond before him was demon, a terrifying, evil harbinger of death and destruction.

And now it had its eyes set on him, to inflict the same fate upon him. To snuff away his existence like some insignificant ant. He had to run, but how was the question. He was levitating in mid-air, his body slowly being pulled toward Naruto and the giant blindfolded demon standing behind him.

As the bridge completely disappeared into the sea below, the feet of the giant were exposed, planted deeply within the water as it roared once more. Naruto stood atop its hand, his skin having paled sickly and making him all the more frightening to Gatou whose gaze flickered everywhere for anything to rescue him from his plight and imminent death. His body was hard as stone and he couldn't move, whether from his fear or the weight exerted on him by whatever gravity technique was pulling him toward Naruto.

Naruto raised his arm as Gatou landed atop the giant hand of the statue, grabbing the suited man by his tie and snarling at him while the energy dragon hovered above the head of the great monolith, its eyes firmly set on Gatou as well.

"P-please, d-d-don't k-k-kill me," the man begged pitifully, his feet no longer touching the surface of the hand as Naruto had him lifted up in the sky, his feet dangling off the surface.

Naruto gazed at the man with an intrigued stare, his red eyes gleaming with murder. A little voice was whispering in his ear all the ways to end Gatou, a raging debate ensuing as he stared at the man who was haplessly dangling in the air. Naruto smirked behind the fabric of his scarf before he raised his fist and plunged it straight into the man's mouth, a squelching sound being heard as Gatou's eyes widened as Naruto blocked all forms of oxygen to his lungs.

"**Shinra Tensei!**" Naruto said calmly and Gatou's eyes widened as his form bulged intensely, his plump figure growing like a balloon, while his eyes glowed white. The man went off like a popped balloon, his blood splashing against Naruto's face as he was blown and crushed to bits. Blood and gore fell to toward the sea below the feet of the statue.

The red within Naruto's eyes slowly peeled off as he panted, his eyes drooping and his eyelids growing heavy before he fell off the statue's hand himself, slowly descending into the water. The Gedo Mazo itself also went off in a large cloud of smoke, disappearing to wherever it was it came from as silence settled over what remained of the Nami Bridge, only a few surviving and upright pillars that had once supported a work of art, courage and hope.

Before Naruto could splash into the water he was caught by the arms of Kakashi who steadied the blond, staring at him with a worried expression. Naruto looked extremely pallid and his hair appeared to have dampened, losing its natural glow. Naruto's eyelids parted slightly as he stared at Kakashi, "You killed her…" Naruto whispered almost child-likely with tears once more in his eyes as he slumped to unconsciousness.

Kakashi sighed wearily as he pulled his headband down to cover his eye. Those words cut far too deep and considering that it was Naruto saying those words made it all worse. Phantom images of his former teammates conjured up in his head before Kakashi shook them off with a wild shake of the head.

Kakashi looked around him as he stood atop the surface of water with his Chakra, feeling his eye drop at the failure of the mission. He looked toward further ahead where he could see hundreds of Nami civilians in a large boat staring at the remainder of the bridge in shock and horror. He could imagine their heartbreak and disappointment after all they had sacrificed to build the bridge. However on the brighter side of things Gatou was dead, that meant that Nami could rebuild even without the bridge. Nonetheless it was still going to be a bitter pill for some to swallow, especially Tazuna.

* * *

"This is the end. I'm sorry it took Haku for us to settle this." Kakashi who had an unconscious Naruto on his back with his team standing behind him said to Zabuza who had his broad sword strapped to his back. The spiky, black-haired Kirigakure no Sato Nuke Nin had his wrappings taken off, exposing his pale visage. He was carrying Haku's motionless form in his arms and the hard look that one normally associated with him had softened for some reason or the other.

Zabuza was staring off into the distance, letting the sunlight bounce against his face. A flake of snow landed on his cheek and the man poked it onto his finger, staring at it forlornly before he sighed deeply. Soon snow descended from the heavens, surprising the group and some of the citizens in the distance on the shore.

Strangely for Zabuza, he was experiencing a storm of emotions, at his failure to Haku and his own arrogance and ambitions which had led to the death of the girl. What had happened could all be described as being his fault, his own treatment of a loyal subject and someone who was like a daughter to him as weapon had led to Haku's sacrifice and thus because of that, Naruto had nearly lost his mind.

Zabuza finally nodded as he turned around to stare at the unconscious figure of Naruto with an examining stare, still unable to believe all that the young blond had just done. However what he was searching for did not include power, but qualities he assumed Haku would look for in people. To Zabuza Naruto was dangerous and powerful and unstable too, very much so. While it seemed that the boy had no quarrel with killing he still harboured that small inkling of childish naivety and it had cost him Haku. Still Zabuza reasoned that it could've been because Haku had lied to the blond and thus the reaction. Nonetheless Naruto was just another victim of the cruelty that was the life of Shinobi and while the boy was not bound by allegiance to a village or any source as Haku had been to himself, Zabuza believed Naruto had learned a great lesson about the true meaning of being a Shinobi. A tool…

"Where will you be heading now?" Kakashi felt the need to ask out of merely curiosity. It was not every day you fought someone who could be described as your arch nemesis only for them to become something else, temporary allies perhaps? Normally all enemies perished at Kakashi's hand but the situation with Zabuza was different, surprisingly. Kakashi's group as well looked at the man questioningly at that, showing their interest at also knowing where the man who had given them such trouble for their first mission with interested stares.

Zabuza closed his eyes in a thoughtful pose, "Kirigakure, to join the rebellion and finally atone for my sins by serving my country." He concluded calmly after a brief moment of thought. He had thought somewhat about it, even during the week leading up to the clash on the bridge. It would've been so much easier had he done that but again his ambitions had gotten the best of him. The reason he had no wishes to join the bloodline purges and why he had denied so many calls from their leader to join their cause was simple, he had wanted Kirigakure for himself, not to help someone ascend to the role of Mizukage. That was the reason he had initiated the coup and was once more planning another one. However with the loss of Haku, his pride had forcibly been shoved down his throat. It seemed so strange because now that Haku was gone, Zabuza felt lost, as if a part of him was missing. He had nothing now but perhaps by helping free his land from Yagura's reign of terror could be a temporary and short term goal to look forward to, to ensure that more children like Haku did not have their childhood tarnished, destroyed or marred by pain and war.

Perhaps reviving and training next generation Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shuu could become another as well. He did not know for he was still mulling over this but he hoped that Haku would give him the answer.

"Alright then," Kakashi nodded his understanding of the man's goal as Zabuza stared at the falling flakes of snow with a wistful glimmer in his eye.

The man settled Haku's form in his hands before he slowly began walking away from the group. Heavy snow began falling, absorbing the form of Zabuza into it as he made way for the forest in Nami with his deceased apprentice in his arms. Kakashi and his team stared a while longer after the man before he disappeared into the distance.

With Zabuza's now out of sight, Kakashi heard what sounded like skirmish of words, 'sounding like get off Sakura before he turned around to see the now awake and conscious Sasuke who was trying his best to shrug off the girl doting over and shedding tears for him.

"Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-kun is okay." Sakura suddenly shrieked excitedly as she called out to the man.

Kakashi sighed tiredly as he walked toward where he could see the Uchiha being doted over by the pink-haired. Sasuke had an annoyed expression on his face as he tried countlessly to shrug the girl away but she was rather persistent and strong as well. Kakashi wondered where if that strength only applied to Sasuke and if it could be used in battle, to glomp the Uchiha.

Kakashi toward Sai who was staring directly at him or rather the figure he was carrying on his back. The boy appeared alright if not for a few scars and Senbon sticking out of his form. It seemed he had been able to fend off the worst of the attacks from Haku. Still, Sai was more skilled than Sasuke currently and it came of no surprise he had received minimal damage from the battle.

"So that's him huh," the boy began simply as he examined Naruto, "He doesn't seem all that powerful to me." He judged blankly with a twitch of his lips.

"We both know that's not what you truly think Sai." Kakashi said simply as he and Sai walked calmly toward Sakura and Sasuke.

Sakura snapped her head up to stare at the two. Her eyes went to the unconscious form of Naruto being carried piggyback style by Kakashi and she felt her heart level rise. She had forgotten briefly that Sensei had brought the blond with him from the now destroyed bridge after he killed Gatou. Sakura still imagined in her head Naruto's demonic eyes snapping open to stare at her before he would feed them all to that…thing of his. Sakura was terrified of the blond and rightfully so and she reasoned he couldn't be human, that was all her rather young mind could manage.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you…?" she trailed off as her forest green orbs flickered to the blond.

Kakashi just nodded as he looked at his team. Tazuna had gone to his house to digest all the nonsense that had went down immediately after they had escaped from the bridge and thus Kakashi wondered how he was going to explain it to the man why he would bring the very same person responsible for the destruction of his construction. "Yes Sakura, I am bringing him with us to Tazuna's house."

"What?" She exclaimed in shock as her eyes widened at that. Kakashi-sensei was going to bring the snake to their den and let him rest in their house, absolutely not Shannaro. But looking at the blond now, with his eyes closed and his paled skin and how peaceful he appeared, she could not help but mortalize him in her mind. He looked vulnerable and streaks of tears lined his features while his blond hung over his features, his scarf though obscured his lower facial half, inclusing lips from view. His long-sleeved black shirt was torn in a few places but was otherwise alright.

"Wait you said Naruto?" She repeated the name with a vague sense of familiarity audible in her voice but one which escaped her thought. She couldn't help but feel that she had heard the name before but it could've been so long ago she had forgotten it.

"Yes, he is a former citizen of Konoha." Kakashi said simply and Sasuke's eyes narrowed darkly.

"What are you doing bringing him with us? Isn't he the enemy?" Sasuke grunted as he stood up with wobbling feet, allowing Sakura to steady him and keep him from collapsing to his feet. He had one eye sealed shut in a permanent wince while the Senbon plunged through his neck made it difficult for him to speak clearly. He did not know what had happened after he had been knocked out by that hunter-Nin but with how ruffled up Kakashi looked and the gaping hole on his shoulder, Sasuke could only assume it had to have been an intense battle. Sasuke hated this feeling of weakness. His pride had received a harsh blow after he was manhandled by Haku but he found some small measure of consolation in the fact that he had awakened it at last, the Sharingan. Now he was truly on his way to accomplishing his goal.

Kakashi gave Sasuke a strong glare which shocked the Uchiha into silence, "I'm the Jonin of this team Sasuke. There is a lot you don't understand about this boy." Kakashi said; evoking raised brows from both Sakura and Sasuke. Sai however remained stoic, just standing behind Kakashi with his gaze on Naruto. Of course Sai knew who Naruto was but his teammates were in the dark about him. However the Jonin decided that he would tell them when they made it to Tazuna's house.

* * *

The dinner around Tazuna's house was an oddly dull and muted affair, enjoyed in palpable silence as everyone seemed lost to their musings about the events of the rather long day. Kakashi sat at the corner reading his book with his bowl still full and untouched while Kurenai and Yugao were to his left, staring at their own meals disinterestedly. Everyone else from Tenzo's squad, including the Mokuton user himself and Asuma were passed out of it with the two women being the only two who had managed to awaken.

Tazuna had went to sleep while Inari was likely in the room Naruto was in as he had taken to doing for the rest of the day, watching over the unconscious blond sleeplessly. The boy admired the blond it seemed and he saw him as his idol of sorts. It made Kakashi wonder how it felt like, to be looked up to like that and if Naruto had stayed in Konoha the same would've been said about them. He stared into the kitchen where Tsunami shuffled with a row of dishes while humming lowly to herself. She was surprisingly in good spirits but he could not blame her, what with Gatou being dead and all and Nami no Kuni all but assured of its freedom, despite the destruction of the bridge. The country would soon pick up the pieces and regain its lost feet.

Anko was deeply asleep and unlike normal circumstances where she would squirm, twist and turn in her sleep, tonight she was strangely muted and was sleeping soundlessly. That Kakashi had learned to be the result of the removal of her cursed seal. The man had been shocked to hear that Naruto had beaten nine Jonin level Ninja and had somewhat made it seem so effortless. However when he discovered the latter part of Naruto removing the seal, his shock became palpable. He had went in search of the nine after arriving from the bridge, his doing do being that Naruto was supposed to have not showed up on the bridge because the team was supposed to have confronted him.

"So will we taking Naruto-san back with us Kakashi-taichou?" Yugao asked calmly as she stared at the silver-haired man. That had been a question the man himself had been mulling over. They had the perfect opportunity to do so with Naruto being passed out but Kakashi didn't feel it. It felt wrong somehow, to rip the boy's loved one from him and drag him back to Konoha on his sleep.

"No, we will be leaving without him." The woman nodded and went back to sharpening her blade. Kurenai stared toward Kakashi, knowing that he had to be blaming himself for what happened with Haku.

"What really happened back on the bridge Kakashi?" The beautiful red eyed and raven-haired Jonin queried the silver-haired man.

"I made a terrible mistake." The man said forlornly as his stare lost its focus, "One which will make Naruto despise Konoha even more."

* * *

**(Two Days later ~ Seal- Mindscape)**

"**You fool, you utter childish fool." **Naruto stared silently and with a disturbed gaze on his features at the raging Bijuu before him. Never before had he seen the fox's eyes blazing with fury and fear as they were now. Whatever it was that had rattled the Bijuu Naruto could not be a normal case, such as him awakening the Rinnegan. The fox stood at its full height, glaring down at him with eyes which Naruto swore would dig holes into his skin from how sharp they were.

His mind was filled with delirium, broken shards of memories and he could not surmise what it was he had to have done to enrage the nine-tailed Bijuu. He waited thus for his tenant to continue.

"**Have you any idea what you have done, NARUTO!**" That was enough to further plant seeds of worry within Naruto. The fact that the Kyuubi had just used his name, it was disturbing and Naruto was now visibly worried.

"I don't understand." The blond managed to utter out as he kicked himself to force his hazy memories of the events from the bridge into perspective.

"**You foolish brat. What you did is a testament that no human should ever wield that power, those eyes.**" The humanoid fox sat down, bringing its head close to the giant bars keeping it at bay as it stared at Naruto with its red, slitted pupil eye.

Naruto was now well and truly confused. The rage that burned on the fox's visage was one thing, but the suspense that the Kyuubi kept him in was slowly beginning to frustrate as well as tautness, "What are you really trying to say?" Naruto asked as his eyes slowly lost the patience that had been in them and he narrowed them.

"**You summoned a creature better left forgotten. In your rage on the bridge, you summoned Juubi.**" Naruto's breathing hitched and he fell on his behind as he attempted to back up from that frightening revelation, his eyes widening in untamed horror, shock and disbelief. It simply could not be true and the young blond simply sat down on the ground, his eyes trembling and his whole figure vibrating with fear at the implicit danger behind that shocking new fact. "**You have doomed this world now.**"

"B-but how can I do that? I-is that even possible." Naruto's breathing was now shallow and strained as he stared at his similarly worry-filled tenant who huffed with miff at his question.

"**Yes it is. It comes with awakening the seventh path ability, Gedou. I had imagined you would be responsible with this power however you were not. I'm disappointed.**"

"I…" Naruto began tensely as the shock had yet to abate from his face. His head fell as he stared at his reflection on the water below him, "I'm sorry." That was all he could truly say, the best he could manage in these circumstances. What was he to do when it had just been revealed to him that he had just summoned a creature that dwarfed the combined efforts of the Bijuu in both power and Chakra, one which could possibly destroy not countries as Bijuu were said to do but the very world itself.

"**Save your foolish sentiment. Right now we need to figure out how to deal with this mess.**" The Bijuu dismissed Naruto's apology as it stared at him. Naruto merely nodded his bowed head as he raised his eyes once more to stare at his tenant's own. "**Now what you summoned was not in actuality Juubi but merely the emptied husk of it. However it still had enough power to wrought that much destruction and destroy that bridge during the summoning.**"

Naruto felt his heart sink even further at those words. What had he really done? He had just gone and destroyed the very bridge he had sought to protect, a symbol representative of the hopes and dreams of a country. Suffice to say, Naruto was not feeling all that particularly proud of himself right now.

"**I can only assume that you summoned it from where it was stored**," Naruto raised his eyes at that as he gazed questioningly at the Bijuu, "**The moon.**" Naruto nodded as that made sense. The tales of the Rikudou Sennin were now coming together bit by bit and had revealed a terrifying truth to Naruto, one which he felt he was better off not knowing it. The Rinnegan was a sacred power, not to be trifled with and not to be found in the wrong hands. Suddenly the burden of responsibility on Naruto's shoulders increased and he simply felt as if the fate of the world rested on his young shoulders.

"What do I need to do?" Naruto raised his head to stare at the Bijuu.

"**Nothing. The statue disappeared and I cannot sense its presence anywhere**," The Bijuu began and Naruto's eyes lit up somewhat with hope, "**However assuming that it did not return to where it was originally stored. It might end up in the wrong hands, hands like Madara's.**" Naruto scrunched his brows up in confusion as he could feel that there was an implied possibility of that happening in the Bijuu's words. There was also the lingering fact that he felt as if the fox was hiding something from him, though he did not know what it was. "**Those eyes of yours are the answer. If no one gets hold of them, then they will not be able to do anything with the husk, assuming there is none other like you out there.**" The Bijuu concluded with a slightly calmer tone, having calmed down from its rage.

"Then I suppose there is only one thing left to do," Naruto began as he stood up causing the Bijuu to stare at him questioningly, "I have to become stronger, stronger than the Rikudou." Naruto concluded sharply and strangely there was no retort from the Bijuu as it stared at him with intrigue, "I can sense a storm coming within the next few years."

The Kyuubi huffed at that but made no outward effort to shoot Naruto's sudden proclamation down. The blond blinked before he slowly disappeared from the mindscape as he felt a tug in the back of his mind, being from his return to consciousness.

* * *

Naruto's light purple ringed eyes fluttered open to the sight of an unfamiliar roof. He was lying on a futon with a small warm light blue blanket covering his form. He turned his head to glance to his left to meet the sight of the raven-haired boy from a few days prior lying awake in a similar futon and staring at him somewhat creepily with stalking dark eyes. A further distance to the boy's left another pale skinned boy laid asleep, but Naruto could feel that he was completely aware of what went on around him. Whatever worry he had blossoming was waved off at the sight of the two and the blond assumed they were still in Nami, in Tazuna's house as the two were part of the team hired to protect said bridge builder or otherwise he would be tied to a chair with his Chakra sealed off. He wondered if the Hokage could do that to him but he reasoned that the aged man wouldn't do such a thing, unless he embraced Danzo's ideals.

Naruto shrugged off the blanket covering him as he sat down, taking a good examination of his surroundings. The interior of the house were fairly nice, with painted walls. Furniture was scarce though and only a few essentials took up the space here and there.

He stood up as he swayed slightly, his actions exposing his naked chest to the cold chill of the wind as it bit into him. Naruto put a palm on his head as a brief bout of light-headedness washed over him and made him see phantom darkness in his eyes. The haze in his eyes cleared and seeing as he could see clearly once more moved toward the headboard. He shivered with a tremble of the skin as he searched of his shirt on the low pile of clothing before he found his long-sleeved black shirt. He pulled over his form and began buttoning it up, brushing off the stare following his every move from Sasuke.

Once he was all fully clothed, Naruto stared at himself, feeling as if something was missing before a hand went to his face, to find the scarf that he regularly adorned missing. He would dare not say he was panicking, but he did not like the feeling of it not being on his face either somewhat. He also checked himself over before he noted that another thing was missing, his cloak. He had left it back in the forest it seemed. He decided then that he would go back there for it. That is if it did not get torn and shredded during the fighting.

He cast his eyes toward a stand where he could see a shade of red cloth and he moved toward it, pulling on it to reveal his long red scarf. He did not know why it felt so nostalgic within his touch, being that he had worn it for two years now. Somehow he felt the need for change, so many bad memories, perhaps he would have to have a black one tailored for him rather. He inhaled before he cast it over and around his neck, pulling on and settling it just over his nose with it covering his whisker marks.

Naruto spun around before he headed out for the door. It was early morning and the chirping of birds resounded outside and thus he did not expect to find anyone around the house, meaning he could slip quietly unnoticed. He opened the door and walked out, coming to a small passage which also connected to the stairs. He walked down the stairs before he came through the living room. Barely audible sounds of murmured and hazy chattering reached his ears, but he couldn't find it in himself to care to try to make sense of the voices amidst the haze. He just felt numbed currently and the sleep seemed to have not done him any sort of good as bags lined his eyes as if he had not actually slept for two days.

He completed his descent down the stairs and came through the living room or was it a kitchen? He had no idea but he immediately stopped upon doing so at seeing all his former opponents and enemies casually sitting around a table, chatting rather casually. They all turned around to stare at him as the house descended into uncomfortable silence.

Naruto returned their stares with a blank stare of his own, his gaze flickering briefly to Kakashi who could only manage a half-hearted serious stare before his eyes dropped to the ground. The ANBU were absent, possibly outside doing whatever strange things they tended to do. At the table was only a heavily bandaged-up Asuma, Anko, Kurenai, Kakashi and Tenzo who was the only member of the ANBU squad within the house.

Anko stared congenially at the blond, flashing him a small smile to which Naruto nodded before he began walking toward the door. Nobody said anything to stop Naruto as he opened the door to exit but the voice of Inari did, "Naruto-niisan? Are you leaving already?" The boy asked somewhat sadly as his head fell.

"Yeah, I must move on now. This place once held some fond memories but now they have…darkened." The blond finished as his eyes flickered over to the Konoha squad over by the table, their heads falling at his statement with Kakashi especially seeming worse.

"Will you ever come back then?" The boy asked hopefully with his big eyes peering innocently at Naruto's own rippled ones.

"Perhaps one day, but I don't think I would be welcomed." The boy sniffled, using one hand to wipe away the tears trailing down his face. Naruto bowed to come eye-level with the boy, putting his hand on his shoulders, "Hey, don't cry now. Look at you, you've freed your nation. You have become even stronger than myself." Naruto said in hopes of lifting the boy's gloomy and downcast expression.

"R-really?" the young boy asked innocently in a trembling voice as his eyes perked up in childish joyfulness. Naruto just smiled assuredly at the boy as he took off his scarf and handed it to the boy, wrapping it around his neck.

Naruto's face was exposed for the first time to most of the Konoha Shinobi and Sakura's face flushed scarlet as whatever fear she had felt about Naruto was replaced by brightly starry and twinkling eyes. Anko just licked her lips hungrily while Kurenai glared at the woman for her rather explicit behaviour. Yugao was the epitome of blankness as she just wondered what all the typical female fuss was all about but even she could not deny that the years had certainly been kind to Naruto, well to his growth that is.

Asuma hummed amusedly at seeing the reaction toward Naruto taking off his scarf. He looked more mature without it than he normally did with it on. Kakashi couldn't take off his eyes off of Naruto's whiskered visage, noting how much alike Minato that the blond seemed. It was almost heart-breaking really and considering that this boy had been just mere seconds from killing him on the bridge, Kakashi's guilt had just doubled over. Haku had to have been important to the blond for him to lose it like he did, in fact Kakashi was beginning to worry for Naruto's mental fortitude. The mind can only take so much before it snaps and Naruto was tethering dangerously close to that or had already crossed that boundary.

Naruto was strangely oblivious to the stares he was garnering from everyone else, but the most extraordinary was that of Tazuna who came bursting through the door with a grin only to run into an unmasked Naruto and Inari standing before the door, "What, you're human?" The man said to Naruto whose lips merely tugged at the edges in a rather meek smile.

The man took off his straw hat to blow some air into his face as he plopped down to one of the free chairs around the house, "I thought you Ninja weren't supposed to take off your weird masks and facial covering stuff." The man said in a grunt as he walked past Naruto with Sai in tow to put the bag of stock he had on the table.

"I'm not most Ninja, and that is for ANBU really." Naruto responded calmly.

"Well then were you trying to get a complexion then kid?" Tazuna asked as he shifted himself further into the embrace of the armchair, pulling the bottle of sake to his lips.

"To stave off the hawks rather. Apparently I am a very wanted man." Naruto replied tersely, his serene expression never once wavering as he did so.

The man laughed as the tinge of red tinting his cheeks refused to go away, "Heh, you know I remember you that day from the bridge, oh the bridge. You really gave my man a scare." The man's face took on a somewhat serious expression, "But I must confess I am angry at what you did to my bridge." The man said as he took a gulp from his bottle before he looked up to stare at Naruto whose eyes saddened at that latter fact.

"Tou-san that is quite enough." Tsunami chided her father at his rather rude remark.

Naruto's eyes dropped to the ground, "It's alright. It was all my fault, I'm sorry." The blond said apologetically as he turned around to leave the house.

"Won't you stay for breakfast Naruto-san? I'm just about finished." The woman asked politely as she stared warmly at Naruto whom a few hours ago she had not known, but after actually hearing of his deeds within Nami from Inari and some of the general citizens, she came to appreciate the blond for what he had done. He reminded him of the man she loved, risking it all like that for complete strangers and thus she felt inclined to help him, regardless of the fact that he had singlehandedly destroyed her father's bridge.

She had like everyone else; in fact the whole Nami came to know that the girl to have died on the bridge was the blonde's lover. Painful rather, and it just made her wonder how he had to be handling it. He seemed fine but he looked to have aged by a few years and Tsunami believed being around people who would support him would be nice, however that was before hearing the next bomb that he was an orphan, a travelling one at that.

"No I am fine, thank you. I live not far off from here at Agari-san's Inn; I will get something there to eat." The woman nodded in understanding but appeared somewhat disappointed as they all watched Naruto make his way out of the door.

"Alright then, safe travels Naruto-san." Tsunami decided today that she would never try to understand anything to do with Ninja. Just a few days ago they were fighting and now they had just slept in the same roof as if nothing had ever happened. It was rather ridiculous to her. She knew if she fought another person, she wouldn't speak to them for a while.

Naruto turned to stare at Kakashi and the man instantly knew what the blond needed before he stood up, forcing himself to his feet despite the bouts of pain, "Kakashi?"

"I'll be back, I have to take him to her." The silver-haired man said to which his comrades all nodded solemnly with understanding yet somewhat expressions on their faces. The last time Naruto had been close to murdering Kakashi if what they heard was correct. Who was to say the same thing wouldn't happen this turn around. Nonetheless Kakashi was veteran Ninja and he wouldn't do this if he knew he couldn't handle it.

Once Naruto had exited the door, Inari stared at everyone else with a glare, "Naruto-niisan is a hero. He doesn't deserve to be treated like this." The boy finished as he bounded away out of the house briskly with clenched fists.

Tazuna merely took another swing of his Sake as he stared at where the boy had stood with blank eyes.

* * *

It snowed with a vengeance. Never had Nami no kuni before experienced snow at this time of the year, it was almost unnatural to some and some believed it was the work of a deity or god of some kind.

A blond head stood amidst the white falling from the sky looking at the dug up mound if earth before him with an impassive look. Nothing mattered to him at this moment, he felt dead, empty inside. He was trembling intensely but it was not from the cold, but from his failure. His fist was clenched so tightly blood dripped from it, staining the pristine white covered ground. However his anger still could not overcome the feeling of numbness that weighed over him.

Kakashi stood behind the blond, gazing sorrowfully at the Naruto's back with his lone visible black eye. He could not fathom the pain that he knew Naruto had to be feeling and the blond himself seemed so engrossed in his staring of the place where Haku rested. "You know with what happened here, other villages will hear," The man paused as he stared straight at the silent blond, "They will come after you for your power."

"Let them." Naruto replied tersely in a blank tone, denying Kakashi his gaze as he kept it locked on the white stone marked with Haku's name. Zabuza was the one who had dug up the small, sacred resting place for Haku and Naruto was silently glad for that because he certainly was not looking up to doing something of that sort again. The man had even set up a small well-crafted stone for her, with her name etched on it in black markings.

"You know by all accounts, I should take you back to the village. Even force you if I could." The silver-haired Jonin said as he stared straight at the back of the blonde, waiting to see his reaction to that statement.

"But you can't, because by all rights, YOU, should be dead also." He turned back to stare at the finely and well-crafted block of stone, "Like her." He finished as his eyes refused to leave the place where Haku would be resting for centuries and more to come.

Kakashi had no retort to that statement as he just stared sorrowfully at the heartbroken blond.

"Even right now I'm trembling with the urge to rip your soul out and cast it out to hell because I desperately need someone to blame right now." The tiny falling of the pure white flakes of snow was proof of his failure. Haku had been killed, she had been taken from him and the irony of the situation was by a Konoha ninja yet again. While this turn more forces were at play than merely the will to harm, the fact was that Haku had died by the hand of Kakashi, of Konoha. Naruto sighed wearily as he shrugged off the bout of light-headedness that washed over him, "But look what happened to the bridge because of that." He finished softly as he remembered the disapproving stare that Tazuna had served him with. In a way his initial worries were confirmed and doubts about involving himself with national crises were proven rational as he had ended up doing more bad than good.

"In a way you could say, that Konoha is responsible for the monster that I am right now." He turned around to stare at the copy ninja.

A short silence settled over the duo as Naruto had his back to Kakashi. Mourning was beyond him at this stage, he had lost all the need for it during his two day long slumber. The nightmares had been enough torture, he did not need any more. Acceptance and resignation was all that remained right now. Haku was gone and beyond his reach and once more he was alone, back on the path he had been travelling before he had met her. It seemed she had been a mere block of fleeting happiness that he was meant to stumble over before she would fade away and he would be back to his lonesome. It was almost like Higure and Hotaru all over again, a Konoha shinobi did the deed yet again and he had rampaged afterward. He was sure Haku did not approve wherever she was but she had betrayed him, sacrificed his heart for Zabuza's life.

It was time he hit the road yet again and this time he was truly lost about what he was to do once he left Nami. Where was he to go, he had the money to keep him going for a couple more months but then after that he would have to return to Uzushiogakure once more, to his life as a lonely hermit. Pathetic. He scowled mentally at himself.

He only had himself to blame for what had happened. Nami was free but at the cost of Haku, it was his decision that had driven her to act out as she had but even if he hadn't met her, her fate remained bleak and only death loomed for her.

Whatever fantasy Naruto had held had been snapped apart and he was back to the crushing reality of his life. He was meant to be alone as Danzo had so repeatedly told him. That was his fate, the fate of every other like him. It made him bitter truly for this only pointed toward Minato, the man who had ruined his life. He had conflicting emotions about the man; that he understood that it had been Minato's duty to do what he did and sacrifice his own but the man had left him nothing, all alone, without a father to comfort him, a mother to love him. He had left him alone with a burden too heavy to carry and to the jaws of power hungry sharks.

Naruto did not know what more to do, he was still just a boy. The world was too small for him due to what he was. Eventually he would be found and he would die. All he had were these eyes, and power attracted power and the greedy of the bunch would seek him out for his possessions, the Rinnegan and the Kyuubi. He was back to square one yet again, his life was to be a tough fight for survival and to ensure that neither the Rinnegan nor the Kyuubi fell to the wrong hands. But could he manage to stave off what was to come?

He had no idea but dying did not feel like a bad idea. That was where his troubles would end truly and he would know peace if such a thing even existed. Then again, that was taking the easy route, a cowardly way to go about things. Life was worth so much more for one to throw it away so carelessly. Perhaps the reason men crumbled under such pressures was because they did not talk about what it was that affected them. Keeping all that much weight in was unhealthy and his was unhealthily a lot, too much for one of his age and fragile mind.

"So I suppose this is it then?" Kakashi queried as the blond spun round finally to stare at him, his eyes strangely blank and impassible.

Naruto nodded as he let his eyes peer into Kakashi's own, "Yes it is. I pray that we won't meet again, Hatake Kakashi." Naruto responded simply as he turned around to stare one last time at Haku's grave. He had paid his respect long enough and time had come for him to depart once more, his destination unclear and unknown. He swivelled on his feet as he began walking away from the grave site, leaving Kakashi standing there and staring after him. He still had his cloak to collect and thus he took off in the direction of the dense forest.

* * *

Naruto had a bag slung on his back as he shuffled is way out of Nami no Kuni. His long dark cloak was draped over is form, protecting him from the somewhat harsh freezing cold from the snow. He went about his walking with a deliberate calmness and sedateness, not in a particular rush to get anywhere, if there was even a place he had marked on his list of places to visit that was.

He sensed a familiar presence within the trees before he sighed, "What do you want now?" the sound of light footsteps reached his ears as whomever it was made their way from their hiding place, revealing the form of Anko with a wide smirk on her face.

She planted her hands on her waist as she stared at Naruto, "You were going to leave without saying goodbye to little ol' me? I feel hurt you know." She said in mock hurt.

"What is it that you're really here for Anko-san?" Naruto asked with a sigh, not particularly in the mood for any games. He had his back to the woman with his hand around the strap of his back.

Anko gazed at him with a sisterly expression as she dropped her playful posture, "I wanted to thank you. What you did for me back there is something I doubt I would ever be able to repay." She said as her hand went to her neck where she rubbed nostalgically at a non-existent phantom of her cursed seal.

A smile adorned her features as she stared at the blond responsible for feeing her off of her former master's mark. She was right that indeed she could never repay what he had done for her but if Naruto ever came in need of her help she would help him without any hesitation. At first when she was with the squad being debriefed about the blond, she had instantly developed a strong dislike for him. Naruto had the recognition of the council who loathed her with a vengeance while she did not. The fact that he was the supposed son of the Yondaime got to her. Why could Naruto, a runaway be treated as more special as her, her who had served Konoha for years while Naruto was a possible hostile to Konoha?

She hadn't understood and she wanted what Naruto had from the council, to be wanted, to be seen as something, anything. However Naruto was like her in so many ways, and had suffered more than she had in the nearly thirteen shirt years of his life. The best she could do was try and be nice to him at least.

"Think nothing of it, will that be all?" Naruto inquired in a calm tone as he shifted somewhat uncomfortably from the words of appreciation from the woman. He never knew how to respond to those, had never allowed himself to get used to doing so even.

"No, I want to know where you're headed." She questioned with a strange calmness and authority that somehow struck Naruto as that of a demanding sisterly figure. She had her hands drawn in and wrapped under her chest as she gazed at him with an expectant gaze.

"Why the sudden interest?" Naruto had to ask of course. He knew that he had helped get rid of her cursed seal but he did not think that it would be enough to warrant a growth of interest from the woman about his doings. He was not used to many people being this interested at him though that could be because of his recluse nature, having spent the better part of four years on a lonely island doing nothing but training.

"It is not really safe out there kid. Anyone is an enemy out there; I'm just worried for you." Naruto's eyes widened slightly at those words but he hid it expertly. He inhaled through his nose deeply as he considered the woman's statement. His stomach clenched uncomfortably at those words as Anko was slowly replaced by the form Haku.

"Don't be, I'll be fine." Naruto dismissed her words of concerns as he stared back at her over his shoulder.

She snorted at that; "Because you're the big tough guy huh?" she said with narrowed eyes, "You know if you keep on like this you might lose yourself. You need to find a level ground very soon Naruto and settle down to enjoy your life. It isn't all about death and pain." She advised with a softer tone of voice, her eyes boring into Naruto's back.

"Unless you've been me for the past few years, you would realise that's what life is truly about." Naruto spun around and left the woman standing on the clearing and staring after him with concerned light brown orbs.

* * *

**(Oni no Kuni)**

"NARUTO!" A youth of about twelve years of age with light blond hair that fell past the waist and tied around with a bow shot up from her bedroll with the loud scream, a strange purple geometric design reminiscent of a Dojutsu within her eyes fading away to leave behind pale lavender eyes in its wake. She was clad in a pale yellow Miko dress.

"Lady Shion, are you alright in there?" The worried loud tone of her bodyguard pierced through the door from the other side, drawing the young blond priestess from her stupor. The door swung open to reveal a man clad in attire that was made up of a green vest over worn over a white shirt, with purple Hakama, sandals and a tall hat. The man also had a quiver for arrows strapped to his back next to a bow.

She reined in her erratically beating heart with her hand before she gazed toward the man, "I'm fine, please excuse yourself." She replied tersely and not without some measure of annoyance on her face to which the man bowed before he made his way out of the room. The door opened once more as an elderly lady came in through the door carrying a small container with water and a towel hung on it.

The woman with long greyed hair tied up in two buns atop her head, aged brown eyes and a kindly air about her smiled at the young girl who drew in her knees to her chest innocently.

"Was it _him _again dear?" She asked, stressing the 'him' in particular as she moved toward the visibly shaken young priestess.

The young girl merely nodded meekly as the elderly lady pulled out a damp from her small bowl, planting it soothingly on her forehead. "Well then this the tenth time I believe you have a vision about this Naruto." The girl nodded yet again and the woman put away the small cloth as she moved closer to the young girl, "Then perhaps you should find him, he might have the answer to whatever you're experiencing." She suggested wisely but the girl huffed a snort as she gazed away childishly.

"I can't, this Naruto, whoever he is will die and I will be saved the trouble very soon. I don't understand what all the fuss is about." She answered in response, an annoyed expression coming upon her features at the suggestion. It was not the first to come from the old woman.

"Well I am just saying, your mother did tell you she also had a dream about this boy did she not?" The elderly lady said as she stood up from the bedroll elegantly, gazing down at the youth with an expression expectant of an answer.

"Yes…" she responded begrudgingly as she felt herself losing the battle with the woman. She was right however as this was the tenth vision she had experienced about the blond Rinnegan bearer in a span of just two weeks. It was disturbing to think about for the young blond as she only had a vision about a person once, but this Naruto persisted. Whether it was through some form of fate defying stunt she had no idea but he was plaguing her dreams and she wished for it to stop.

"Then clearly something is going on here, if you keep dying in his stead, then it is a clear statement that you need to find this boy. Perhaps he has the answers."

* * *

**Translations: **

**Rinnegan, Summoning Jutsu **

**Kuchiyose: Gedou Mazou – Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Outer path**

**Shinra Tensei - Almighty Push**

**Kakashi**

**Raikiri - Lightning Cutter **

* * *

**I don't know why but I just didn't feel this chapter, it did not feel like one of my best chapters. It felt too predictable to me, what did you guys think. Was it good, bad, average, tell me? Did I end the Nami no Kuni arc satisfactorily and on a high note or not? **

**On another note; what did you make of Shion's introduction? I had to find a way to bring her into the fray far earlier than I had intended due to demands for her to be involved in the story at an earlier stage. Honestly I do not know why people were rushing the issue, and most who did were not particularly nice about it as well. I had to find a way that would allow me to squeeze her into the mix earlier on and it will be explained in future chapters. However If you have high hopes of Naruto and Shion going the NaruHaku route, forget it, it is not going to happen and it will take time. **

**Immortal out…..**


	16. A Storm Brews

**Disclaimer: As always, I don't and never will own Naruto. **

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**TDI: Guess who? Did you miss me? Jessica simps-**

**Naruto: Ahem! Dude…the story?**

**TDI: Ah yes, well I'm back with the sickness! After a lengthy absence in which I have been doing some very serious stuff over the holidays, drafting my novel (oh I write fantasy by the way), finally I have a story. It was a hell of a challenge I set myself, but in no way or form does it mean I have forgotten about my fanfics, I mean come on, it's just that the heaps of Mythology articles, books and often suffering from self-esteem and confidence issues derailed my progress but I managed so far, although it's no easy to create a universe out of nothing but thought and imagination.**

**Anyway, thank you all for the reviews and for making this my most successful story thus far. I aim to please hey and you can make it better yet by reviewing. **

**Well enough babbling, I have missed you guys and here is the next chapter of the story and it is all for you, you waited patiently for it for too long now.**

**Note: The first part is not actually part of this chapter, I omitted it from the last chapter and I added it to this one. It is part of the story and is sort of an 'extra' of sorts. And also this is a rather short chapter but i hope it gets the message through.**

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**Also, thanks to THAMERCENARY for his support which pushed me to finish this chapter and reminding me that i had people who still appreciated my works. I had promised him an earlier update but couldn't because of some few issues, so this is for him. **

**Note: There is no special review for this chapter, they were all amazing!**

* * *

**(Elsewhere)**

Four personas stood around in a circle, the darkened room they were in adding to the already grim and serious air hanging around them.

They were all clad in the dark baggy cloaks with red cloud patterns, and the group consisted of a woman with blue hair kept in place with an origami flower, she had a piercing under her lower lip and hers was an impassive and blank expression that would take the hardest of hammers and herculean of men to crack. Next to her was the Rinnegan bearing orange-haired man, also similarly holding himself in an aloof manner.

The next two were a being whose body was separated by two contrasting skin colours, with the left half of his body entirely white and the right half black, all the way down from the face. The being had dark green hair, yellow pupil less eyes and what appeared to be some sort of strange Venus flytrap-like appendage over its head like a shell, which extended from both halves of the body. Next to the being stood the man in the orange spiral pattern mask, with the pattern spiralling toward the eyehole for his right eye and he had his hands folded calmly as he gazed expectantly at the Venus flytrap being.

Utter silence was all that reined for a while as if they were pondering something, all their gazes locked onto the black and white being.

"The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki," The masked man began calmly in a deep voice, "A mere child possesses the Rinnegan?" His voice was blank not offering much to be deciphered from his tone but one could feel the hint of disturbing interest and amusement lurking within his voice, "How…interesting." The man concluded darkly as his eyes gained a glint from the candle lighting up the darkened room.

"**It is but I never expected this. Though I do wonder what the boy was doing summoning the Gedou Mazou?**" the black half of the strange creature growled in a deep voice.

The masked man just flapped his hands in a nonchalant manner, "We can only reason he had no idea what he was doing, after all, you said something happened to set him off, did you not, Zetsu?" They all turned their stares to Zetsu who nodded, the light coloured portion of his face doing so with a childish demeanour.

"Yes, Hatake Kakashi killed the boy's lover," there was a strange air that came around the orange masked man at those words but just as it was there, it disappeared an instant later but with their keen eyes, none had missed it yet they did not question the man on it, "**No you fool, the girl jumped in to save Zabuza Momochi from Hatake's Raikiri and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki arrived to that sight**." The deeper voiced half of Zetsu corrected the lighter half, who bent their head to the side in a childish manner as if thinking, their mouth making an 'O' sign.

"Hmm, interesting." The regal Rinnegan bearer hummed to himself, before he set his piercing eyes on Zetsu, "How does the boy think of Konoha?" he asked, and from how everyone's ears perked, it seemed they were equally interested in learning of that.

"**After we left the bridge I did some little digging**." The black half of Zetsu began in earnest, "It turns out the Jinchuuriki has not been in Konoha for over four years now." From the deafening silence that met that statement, it seemed that they all were oblivious of that simple fact and could not believe they had missed it, what with their resources and all.

"What drove him out of Konoha?" The young blue-haired woman questioned the spy.

"**What torments any other Jinchuuriki, hatred**." The black half of Zetsu responded simply. "Also not only that, Sasori's spy confirmed the rumours that Shimura Danzo is dead." The white half of the creature revealed much to the concealed shock AND glee of everyone present.

"Killed by whom?" the Rinnegan bearer questioned in a calm voice, but his eyes gleamed with withheld interest and dare Zetsu say, a bit of satisfaction as well.

"A man named Higure Uzumaki, the grandfather of the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki," this time there was no hiding their surprise as all of their eyes pulsed momentarily, a contrast to the smiling Zetsu, "**But that is not where it ends**."

"There is more?" the amber eyed beauty queried calmly.

"**Yes, Uzumaki Naruto is the one who debilitated Danzo first, after having disposed of his ROOT division**." The deep growl to Zetsu's darker voice was ever present, reverberating through the stone walls. "The grandfather died to protect the boy from Danzo's Juinjutsu when the elder knew he was at an end." The soft voice of the lighter half of Zetsu came as the creature continued. "**Danzo it seemed decided he would rather take the Jinchuuriki with him if he could not have him**." The black half concluded.

A low chuckle escaped from the orange masked man, his sly eye gleaming from the dark of the single eyehole at present on his mask, "this is interesting indeed. First we discover that the old crone is dead, and then that the legendary Uzumaki no Tsukai was alive all this time. We have been very lax my friends and we allowed the boy to walk right under our noses without noticing." He turned around to stare toward the wooden behemoth in shackles, settled in a lotus position as it had always been atop a lotus flower.

"If the boy is already this strong, he could prove to be a detrimental factor to our plans." the blue-haired woman's soft, impassive tone came as she suggested through narrowed eyes.

"Yes, he does not seem to like subjugation that much. I believe we should deal with him now." Her orange-haired, heavily pierced counterpart agreed, his eyes sweeping across the room.

"No, send Itachi and Kisame after him. It was originally their mission to capture the boy." The man turned around to gaze at the black and white skinned man, "Zetsu, you will observe and report back what you have noticed about the boy's abilities. If he is not with Konoha, then moving to kill him without knowing his intentions first would be drastic." The man turned around to stare at the others, "For all we know, he could be one of us, a victim of this world's hatred."

"Are you sure that is wise Madara? I would rather we deal with him now, he could prove dangerous." The woman asked.

The man gave a firm nod of his head in a negative manner, "No, but just imagine how smoothly our plans would go if we have him on our side." He chuckled darkly to himself as his eye glimmered under the shade of the dark, "No one would be able to stand up to us."

* * *

**Chapter 15: A Storm Brews**

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**(Yu no Kuni)**

Naruto could not sleep. Sleep wasn't coming, especially given the fact that whenever he attempted to, he tossed and turned relentlessly. His nights ever since the events of Wave Country were plagued by nightmares, ones he could not discern which would flicker between the horror of Haku's death – the feel of her ice cold pale skin against his form or more hauntingly, her words.

Slaughtering a band of goons and mercenaries did not bring him nightmares, but Haku's death did. It triggered further painful memories better left forgotten, leaving Naruto in a distressed haze. The walls constricted on him at night and suddenly he felt as if he could grasp insanity with his fingers, just a finger's reach away but it was not so. He somehow clung to his sanity like it was the only thing that mattered.

He was just so utterly devastated though. After leaving Nami he had dragged himself to an inn in the nearest town along the border of Yu no Kuni. Crossing over into the land had not been much of a hassle, and no one suspected a travelling orphan of course, well, except one with strange eyes. However the security at the port harbour was rather lax and after dismounting the ship, he had gotten rather easily into Yu no Kuni, in a rather unconscious display to stray away from Fire Country.

He still had no plan, regarding his training regimen that is and disappearing to Uzu no Kuni yet again for training raised a tight knot in his stomach he could just not explain. Or perhaps he could? He was sure he certainly would go bonkers if he spent one more moment on his own devices, which was strange considering he was sort of accustomed to seclusion and his reclusive ways. Perhaps it was Nami returning to bite him in the back. Come to think about it, what had he been doing there in the first place and what did he hope to accomplish? Playing hero did not work; heroes did not exist in their world…

With thoughts of the island nation he was jolted into a startling halt as his recollected memories alluded him to the fact that he had forgotten about Kenjurou, Ageha and the orphan children. He tried to reason with himself that the shock of the morning's discovery after his conversation with the Kyuubi and Haku's death made his mind slow to process things; however that would be a lie, a big one. His sombre mood deepened even more at those thoughts, but he silently kept on, taking in the smell of the chilly morning through his nose. With Gatou's death they would be able to rebuild and move on, without the bridge of course.

Right now he was headed to – where was he going again? He had no idea but his mental warning bells and senses had been screeching ever since he left Nami, mounted the ship to Yu no Kuni and he could not afford to stay in one place for long. He relegated himself to lower standard inns to stay out of the view of the possible stalking eyes of the hawks he knew were surely following him. The company of two he assumed; had been on his tail after his leaving Nami and they had been stalking him since, yet they would briefly disappear and his fears would be lulled temporarily.

Thus now here he was, on a very dark morning, dark because dawn had not yet broke through when he had excused himself from the inn to leave before his trailers would wake and sniff after him. The morning was chilly, his breath producing mist before his very eyes and the sound of the waves in the distance crashing against the shore filled his ears. Gradually the sound decreased, the loud morning chirping of early birds became distorted and blurry echoes to the ear. Like a blanket smothering a fire, sound diminished and a harsh wind blasted with a sudden ferocity like a blasted vacuum... Steps reached his ears and he turned around slowly. Rippled purple eyes met piercing red, three tomoe surrounding the pupil.

Ominous signs…Must approach with caution, was the command he whispered in his mind. The peculiar wind was as strong as ever, whipping against their blanket of a cloak, marred with the symbols of red clouds. It seemed the perfect blend for this man with his ravenous hair and red eyes.

Naruto noted the difference in their surrounding calmly - calm was everything for this dire situation. Their surrounding was the same except not exactly what it had been moments prior. The great lush trees still stood tall around them but the sound of the waves was absent, and so was the morning chill or the loud chirping of birds or even the mist of air from the breath seeping through his teeth from his warm insides.

The man stared at Naruto and Naruto returned it, paying no heed to the risk of meeting those particular eyes. It was no use because they were already under Genjutsu.

"The Yondaime's legacy…" It sounded like a question seeking acknowledgement but Naruto knew the man was not seeking an answer of any kind. He stood some good few metres away from him, regarding him almost scrutinizingly. No fears arose within Naruto at the man being knowledgeable of his heritage. After all he had been ANBU and they had crossed paths in Konoha, and Naruto knew anyone worth his salt could piece the truth behind his heritage if a strong enough interest drove them. A pity no one truly ever cared to…

"And you're…Uchiha," even though it was ludicrous, Naruto could feel the notoriety of the man's name weigh down on his tongue before he even fully announced it, "Itachi Uchiha."

He was rewarded with silence and a slightly raised eyebrow as a reaction, the equivalent of surprise from the man if he had to guess, "Why did you trap me in a Genjutsu?" Naruto felt the need to ask this possibly hostile young man.

"To talk." Was the terse response and Naruto nodded uneasily though he did all he could to retain all measures of calm. He then waited to hear what Itachi wished to say with silence, "But first tell me. If you knew all along you were captured in my Genjutsu, why not release it." Itachi queried with a tone filled with barely veiled interest, as if he was trying to unravel Naruto.

"I have a seal for that, but I…wanted to see what you would do." That was the response from Naruto who did not break off from his staring of the other man.

Itachi smiled and Naruto could not contain his surprise at that. "If I had been anyone else, you would be dead." The Uchiha admitted bluntly.

"Maybe…" Naruto just responded briskly, leaving everything to Itachi to discern what the meaning of that response could be. "I know you've been following me." Naruto concluded.

"Yes, we're part of an organisation called the Akatsuki," Itachi was genuinely surprised when for an instance Naruto's eyes narrowed at the mention of that name but as soon as that grim air had been there, it was gone. It seemed Naruto was proving rather capable of hiding his emotions. Besides that, Naruto remained the epitome of confusion, not giving anything else away to the Uchiha, but Itachi was no fool. He knew what he saw…

Naruto knew he had to play it safe and he could not blabber to Itachi that to his knowledge - well stolen knowledge, the Akatsuki was now defunct, the young leader dead and his Rinnegan friend crippled and possibly insane, because of an insufferable war hawk's manipulations. Cue, a shudder for another disturbing thought, one he had been procrastinating over for a while.

"What do you want from me then?" Naruto asked innocently.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you that but for now know this: we will come for you to secure that which you hold." Itachi said much to Naruto's surprise and well hidden horror, "Against the order of the leader, I have decided to postpone our battle." That came as a surprise to Naruto who was sure that Itachi was the type to follow through on things to a drop, no questions asked and no complaints. However here he was doing exactly the opposite of that, which made Naruto wonder what was going through the Uchiha's head.

Naruto narrowed his eye as he searched every possibility for what the cause of the postponement could be, "Oh I see." Naruto finally broke eye contact to stare at the slashed headband with the leaf symbol worn on Itachi's forehead, "Could this be because of Konoha?" Naruto's question was treated with a tenuous silence from Itachi. Anyone who did not know Itachi's story would merely misunderstand Naruto's words but Itachi knew exactly what Naruto was asking of him.

At last the Uchiha spoke, "It seems to your benefit that you know a _few_ things," Itachi's response was a blatant aversion to Naruto's question but Naruto did not miss the slight extra emphasis put on the word 'few'.

Against the ensnaring stare of Itachi, Naruto remained calm to his benefit as the illusion of a surrounding shimmered, before dissolving completely and taking with it the form of Itachi and Naruto once more could hear the waves, could feel the chilly morning air slapping against his face. It was still dark and as if a few minutes had not passed by since he was trapped in a Genjutsu. Either way, barring the strange encounter a thought, his life was just about to become a living hell, literally.

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**(Konohagakure)**

There was a time when Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, being as old and weary as he was, believed that he had built immunity to the strange things one was privy to as Kage or Shinobi, which was the term: expect the unexpected. However nothing could prepare the aged and longest ruling Hokage for what he had just been told. It was unexpected and what made it worse was that he was completely not expecting it.

Moments of tense silence passed between Hiruzen and the solemn, ashamed group of Shinobi before him. The Sandaime was staring at Asuma with a slack-jawed expression, the pipe in his mouth just clinging to his agape lips by mere inches. The man known as The Professor collected his wits and bearings just as quickly, staring at the Jonin giving him a report, "Asuma, you mean to tell me that a group of Jonin were defeated…by Naruto?" The man himself did not even trust or believe the nonsense he was asking, because to him, it was nonsense. It was not exactly the question he had been planning to ask the group on their return from their mission, in fact it was the complete opposite of what he planned to ask Asuma when he returned with his and Tenzo's squad.

The cool faced Jonin gave a firm nod in response, ignoring the blushing women standing by his right and left, "He did not just defeat us, he kicked our asses and hauled us all together. What worries me is the way he did it." That invoked Sarutobi's curiousity, the Hokage who had his beady eyes firmed on his son, "He made us seem like inexperienced Genin. He did not even fight to kill, which makes me wonder…" Asuma, who was assigned the task of handing out the brief mission report on behalf of the Jonin while Tenzo would handle his own squad's said. Beside him Hiruzen stared at Anko and Kurenai, who merely averted their eyes from his stern ones.

"How? Did you underestimate him?" Sarutobi asked with a heavy sigh of disbelief, almost as if breathing was the only things to him which was normal and not tainted by the strange of today.

Asuma shook his head on behalf of everyone, a serious frown marring his visage, "No, he was prepared, too prepared for my liking. Not only that," Asuma eyed Anko on his left through the corner of his eye, releasing an uneasy exhalation from his lips after a prolonged drag of his cigarette, "he also got rid of Anko's cursed seal. I don't know why but he did. If it was to piss Orochimaru off, this kid must be involved in some serious stuff."

This time there was no salvation for the Hokage's pipe as it clattered against the wooden surface of the table, leaving him ma gaping mess, well with a bit of dignity to him still. In an instant Hiruzen was by Anko's side, much to the shock of everyone who barely blinked him away. His eyes were stern as he had them fixed on the smooth, blemishless spot on Anko's left shoulder, where in his mind his student's despicable seal was located. A wry smile came upon the man's face while he shook his head, '_He truly is your son, isn't he Yondaime?_' he thought with pride and restrained wistfulness at the same time. Stepping away from Anko, Sarutobi gazed at the three Jonin, folding his hands behind his back "I need you all to write your own report of what happened, including a full analysis and mention of Naruto's abilities. You are all dismissed."

As they filed out of the room, Sarutobi walked to his desk and settled himself behind it, lighting up his pipe and releasing a lonely ring of smoke, "How much did you hear, Kakashi?" The Hokage said to no one in particular.

Mere moments after Sarutobi spoke, the silver-haired Jonin stepped in through the window, stuffing his orange book into a pocket, "Nothing I didn't know of so far." The Jonin admitted nonchalantly.

Sarutobi hummed to himself, another ring of smoke flying past his calm face, "Well then, I believe you will be interested in hearing what Tenzo wants to share with us." Just as confusion enveloped Kakashi, Tenzo appeared in a body flicker. A curt nod to greet Kakashi which was returned and a bow to the Hokage, the man straightened up.

Tenzo weighed in how much of what he was to say would further spoil the mood of the Hokage and what would not, but it was part of his mission report to divulge every detail and thus report it he would, "Hokage-sama, when I fought Naruto, the real one I mean, he said some things which disturbed me greatly, secrets which only…you and a few others are privy to." The man began.

The Hokage leaned forward with interest in his eyes, while Kakashi himself narrowed his eye, "What things Taichou?" The Hokage queried.

Tenzo cleared his throat, "Naruto, called me Kinoe…the Mokuton Child." The unease with which the man said the words with was palpable, not staving off the tension and turmoil he was already feeling.

Kakashi could not contain his surprise the same way Sarutobi did, as his eye expanded in shock of those words, "He openly called you that?" the silver-haired Jonin questioned his former comrade.

"Yes, and not just that, it seems he knew why I was there and I hazard a guess why I also acquired my abilities." Both men could feel the tense aura around the ANBU captain. It was clear as an open book, even with the mask covering his face.

"Did he tell you how he came in possession of such Intel?" Sarutobi asked the man with narrowed eyes, having seized paying any sort of interest to the pipe trapped between his lips.

"He said he extracted it but never mentioned from whom? I instantly guessed it had to be Danzo-sama, he was the last person to see Naruto who knows that secret." Was the response from Tenzo, who could not help but feel the tension in the room dropping to uncomfortable levels.

"Damn that insufferable fool," The Hokage cursed under his breath as the lines stretching his face deepened, "But I wonder how Naruto-kun could've done that. It is extremely unlikely torture would make Danzo speak, and Naruto, if is still know him would not put a person through an ordeal like that." Kakashi's head fell at those words, drawing Huruzen's attention toward The Copy Nin.

"He's changed Hokage-sama, he has changed a lot." Kakashi uttered with a heavy sigh, "The Naruto I saw out there was a totally different person. The things he did still escape me even now. He looks like a copy of him now but he's merciless."

Sarutobi took in Kakashi's pensive words with a sad smile, "Will that be all Tenzo?" he asked trying to stem off the weariness in his voice.

"There is only one more thing," Hiruzen nodded motioning for the man to continue, "Naruto told me he knew most of the village's secrets. I'm not sure I trust his discretion but I believe he will not divulge anything to anyone…yet." A tense silence engulfed the entire group as they let those words sink in, weighing in the possible ramifications of them in deep silence.

Finally at last Sarutobi spoke, "I see. Well then Taichou, I expect a report of everything that went on with the mission on my desk tomorrow. You're dismissed." Sarutobi commanded.

"Hai!" the man replied before he spun out of existence with a whirlwind of leaves.

"Did you have something to say Kakashi, earlier in your report you said you would tell me about everything in private."

Kakashi gave a nod in acknowledgement of that. He had postponed his mission report with his team earlier to give the others time to give theirs while he would give his own account later. Putting his wits in place and calming himself down, Kakashi stared at the Hokage, "The mission to Wave was a success but it was more than it seemed as the message I sent back said." Sarutobi gave a nod to Kakashi, understanding and being aware of that part. He had received the message and sent a team to retrieve two Chuunin who were defeated and left restrained by Kakashi and his team for capture and questioning. "I am sure the Torture and Interrogation division milked the answers out of them so I will go on to the important parts."

"Yes, I know that the two were working for Zabuza Momochi among others." The Hokage admitted to the silver-haired man.

Kakashi scratched his face, a glimmer of guilt entering his lone visible eye, "To put is short, I let Naruto go when he was passed out after he summoned…something on the bridge," Kakashi admitted much to the Hokage's horror, "After he saw me kill the girl he loved, who happened to be Zabuza's apprentice."

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**(Yu no Kuni)**

Naruto breathed in deeply as he inhaled the smell of his lunch through his nostrils. His face was nearly touching the round dish with his nose digging right into it. The food laid out before him tasted good, and he wished to savour every moment of the taste they offered. Though, with his monstrous appetite, he could not exactly excuse the jaw-dropping stacks of plates on his table or the floored expression waitress standing over him with her jaw dropping of course. The number of dishes was about her size, and she still had one more on her tray and thus none could fault the poor woman for, well, being stupefied by the ruthless destruction done to their food by this very strange boy.

Naruto was just about to tell the poor stunned waitress to lay the soup on the table when with a jingle, the flaps to the small shop were drawn, drawing his eyes and snapping the waitress out of her stupor, to which she put the bowl of soup before him, while she meticulously stacked the dirty ones on her tray.

Eyes kept low and inconspicuous, Naruto spied the new entrants. The carefree air around him darkened, repelling and driving away the waitress while Naruto kept his face and attention to his 'bowl'. The three, a male in his late forties to fifties, a youthful blond female and a pig-holding black-haired woman looked around and ironically, all the tables and stools were taken, except for one, his. There were two empty chairs at the other end of his table but unfortunately, with them being three in number, Naruto heaved an inner sigh thinking they would turn back.

How wrong he was….

The male, with wild spiky hair like a lion's mane and hawk-like eyes seemed to 'take' in the place before his eyes settled on Naruto's form, a flash of something akin to recognition passing within them and then he nodded to his female counterparts and just as Naruto feared, they sauntered toward his table.

"Hey there," with big, strong hands the man gripped and toiled the other chair of his Naruto's table around before plopping recklessly down on the chair without invite or asking. The blond woman just followed his lead while the black-haired one clutching a pig close to her chest seemed torn between something. She gazed apologetically at him as she stood above the blond buxom woman, "We're so sorry for that. We don't mean to intrude on your space like this. It's just that, all the tables and seats are taken." The woman said nervously. Her grip on the pig was strong and even in her moment of nerves, she was wary, Naruto observed, "I hope you don't mind that we join you?" She asked in the most sincere voice she could manage. Her companions were merely looking at Naruto.

Naruto lifted his face from the bowl and smiled in an exaggerated manner, "Not at all. It was not like I had a chance to refuse anyway." He said, his fraudulent smile still stretching his lips.

The white-haired man met Naruto's eyes, almost as if wishing to find something there and from the satisfied glint in his eye as he went back to half-pretending to read the menu appeased that.

Silence engulfed the group, the uncomfortable aura behind it not helping the squirming pig within the black-haired woman's hands, possibly from the tighter than appropriate hold crushing its ribs. The poor pig was nestled tightly against the trims of her black kimono, its face purple from loss of air. The pig of course let its carer know how much hurt she was inflicting to it via a whiny, out of breath 'oink'.

Naruto had gone back to spooning down his soup while the others sent their order to the brunette waiter who visited their table following the arrival of the three.

"So tell us kid, where are you from?" The man asked without meeting Naruto's gaze, picking the wart on his vertical red lined face. His hair reached to his waist, an enviable length to Naruto himself who wished he had enough time to grow hair that long. What Naruto had let his eyes stray to the moment he saw the trio was the horned forehead protector with the Kanji for 'oil' which the man had around his forehead.

Naruto swallowed a spoonful of the delicious onion soup served to him. He was not going to let these three spoil it for him, "Around." Came the brisk, dismissive reply from the blond.

The blond woman smirked at the man as she crossed her hands under her large bosom, "Don't mind the idiot; the only language he speaks well is pervert." Naruto wanted to laugh but he held himself back, partly because of the tension surrpounding the group, spooning his soup to stave off the laughter in his chest, "However we would like to know your name? If you don't mind that is."

Naruto put his spoon down against the pink-clothed table surface, meeting her sly brown eyes, "Actually I do." Naruto responded curtly to the blonde woman.

The man with the spiky white mane for hair laughed, "Ah poor Tsunade, you can't do that with him. I think he would listen to your drunken self better, direct and blunt. The mirth in the man's black eyes peeled away as his eyes hardened, his stare firmly on Naruto's own tense but restrained ones, "Look kid, you know why we are here. So I'm not going to sugar-coat around this." The man said in a slightly strong, forceful tone.

Naruto shifted his eyes to stare at the black-haired woman to see her unchanged in expression. The blonde appeared serious as well, with her brows crinkled below the purple diamond mark on her forehead, "I don't know what you're talking about." Naruto lied through his teeth as he brought his eyes back to the man.

"I know you may not like me, in fact you will probably hate me even more after this but I don't care, as long as I fulfil my duty." The man said intensely, while the two women now stared worried at the duo, the tense aura around the group just skyrocketing even if they all adorned carefree expressions, their eyes told a different story, they were all narrowed.

Naruto's face soured momentarily, "Which was?" It seemed that the man understood the implicit meaning behind the 'was' in Naruto's words.

With a wry smile, the man downed a cup of sake which had been brought in a bottle with two glasses to them by the waiter, "To protect a young boy from the dangers of the world, as i promised his father."

Naruto just shrugged with carefully withheld tension and anger, "Does it matter? All young boys grow after all." Naruto replied as his patience began to thin. This was not a subject he wished to delve into. The veins in his fingers twitched, not being missed by any of the three's careful eyes.

Jiraiya took another sip of the alcohol, feeling it warm his insides as it wormed its way from down his throat, "Clearly, but not enough to know understand the implications of some of their actions." The words were a direct jab to Naruto's previous stint in Nami, even if the blond himself did not wish to admit it, he knew the man was right, but he was too stubborn for it.

"Well I understand enough to know you're wasting your time going after a young man you failed as a boy." Naruto stood up from his seat abruptly. Removing a few coins from the pouch dangling on his waist, he threw them to the table, "Good luck with your sear-" Naruto stopped with an unexpected suddenness, rippled eyes narrowing and body tensing.

The occupants of the table also had since adopted alarmed poses, eyes narrowed yet they did not make any outward reaction. The other civilian populace in the restaurant were oblivious to the turmoil brimming outside which only the group around Naruto's table felt.

They did not have to wait long before whatever had them wary announced itself and in some style….

With a loud rumble, a giant, long serpentine figure crashed into the small restaurant, sending tables flying and pandemonium exploding with screams of terror and fright within the small building from the 'normal' occupants. The figure rose high at full length, lifting the roof up above its flat, scaly head. Naruto stood under the behemoth, a giant black snake, which stared intimidatingly at him, fangs bared and dripping with saliva. Calm footsteps reached their ears as everyone within the small shop ran out with concern for their lives, leaving Naruto staring up at the predator dwarfing him while his tablemates stood behind him.

A sinister cackle of a laugh, filled with a great spiritual disturbance echoed through the walls like the laugh of a madman. And then the party revealed himself or rather themselves. Standing in all their glory beside the snake, vicious grins splitting their faces, Kabuto and Orochimaru were the epitome of calmness. Orochimaru's pale lips just stretched farther into a canine-baring, sickening smile at seeing the fear dripping off the fleeing civilians or the tense aura around the remaining four. "But excuse me," The words just slithered out of his mouth, "You were not planning on starting without me, were you?"

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**Ah! Well o am back, although I apologise for the loooooooooooong delay, I had my businesses to take care of. I apologise for the short length chapter, but I had none more to give at this stage. I need the reviews to get me fired up please.**

**To those who were looking forward to a battle between Naruto and Itachi, I apologise but when I conceived this story, the two never battled in my mind. I wrote their confrontation the way I envisioned it, and if you looked underneath the underneath, you would guess why Itachi disobeyed Madara or Tobi if you will and the Akatsuki. Besides, I had no intention to make my return with a battle chapter; the battle will come the next chapter. I am sure you got that part neh… **

**The Immortal out…. **


	17. The Sannin Dilemma

**Well again I don't own anything, yet. **

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**I bet you thought this would never come did you? To the 'impatient' and the 'oohhh he hasn't updated in months', this is TDI's story and TDI has a life beside fanfiction which really exists in the ****domain of reality**** where people don't have happy endings and sucks like a dark lord you just can't defeat. So I'm not dead and so will not this story.**

**Guest reviewers, you make life bittersweet for me. If you review as a guest, leave a pen name of your fanfiction account for me to respond to, that's all I ask. **

**This was one of the hardest chapters I've had to write, I admit that much and sometimes it often put me off, but at least I got over it at last.**

**On to the story! **

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**Just wish to thank MothBallz for a lovely, balanced review regarding the last chapter.**

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**Chapter 16: Sannin Dilemma**

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The town was clearing like fog in the face of the wind, as people fled in the face of such danger, the danger of Shinobi battle and a perilous white silence gripped the area. The whistling winter breeze only sang with the prophetic whisper of an inevitable, if not fated confrontation.

Expectantly, everyone was glaring at the grinning duo, even Naruto, disregardful of half his attention being occupied by the hissing serpent towering above of him. The tension was palpable, and any unfortunate by passer who might stumble upon the group would suffocate and writhe at the constricting hostility emanated.

Naruto was quiet, searching Orochimaru. Any means he had harboured regarding safely negotiating his escape went out the window. There was no way this would be settled without a fight; no way would he not have to again, fight his way out of another impossible situation. This was a collision and he was caught right in the middle of it, or rather, he was the 'price' to be won from the whole ordeal. His jaw clenched tight and his fingers balled into a fist. Truly he could not come out of this unscathed could he? Or even at all that was…

His eyes shifted to Kabuto, who just offered him a sly grin. Not much had changed of the bespectacled youth with the unease-inspiring aura, but his face, with that grin reminded him of a picture, a picture in the dark, a sparsely lit stone-walled room, with a disheartening atmosphere. Unconsciously, a gate into his partitioned memories was flung open. Impure though they may be-the memories-, it all suddenly clicked, on how the man had found him. Kabuto was the cause… what had all been so previously vivid and hazy suddenly cleared like fog in the harshest of winds and he now stared straight into the glowing barrel of truth, loaded with the unwanted enlightening shots of brutal truth. Yes, he felt as if some sort of light had been shed on something so hollow, a cloud which would just not lift. He had portioned his mind and closed off Danzo's memories from the better confines of his ready memories but Kabuto triggered them.

Naruto felt his muscles spasm against his control, anger brimming at the pit of his insides. Everyone turned to him but he did not notice-that he was leaking Killing Intent. His composure was faltering, the barely restrained emotions rolling off of him somehow playing much to Orochimaru's glee.

Orochimaru's paralyzing yellow gaze swept across the room, calculated and predatory as it was, searching and absorbing everyone's expressions until they finally caught Naruto's rippled ones. There was nothing veiling Orochimaru's smile from broadening-rather creepily mind you, "Such a hostile welcome," Orochimaru remarked with a glance at Naruto's taut and tense expression. "But please, we mean no harm." He offered with hands held up in a mocking sign of surrender.

"Orochimaru…" Tsunade hissed with as much venom she could manage, although it did not seem to faze or even put off the broadly grinning Sannin if that was anything to go by. Everyone was of Tsunade's opinion judging by the hostile reception they all served the Snake commanders.

Naruto was about to move, finally having had enough when a strong hand landed on his shoulder, rather friendlily but the grip was not. He looked over his shoulder to see Jiraiya standing beside him, his eyes stern and grave. Naruto knew the man was stopping him from attacking the duo, "Orochimaru, what do you want here?" Jiraiya questioned warily as he stood beside Naruto, resting his elbow on the blonde's shoulder. It was clear to Naruto, don't do anything stupid, was what the man was trying to force on him. A pity he did not care enough to heed his advice. He could take care of himself very fine.

Orochimaru just gave a chuckle of amusement as he stared at the white-haired man, the Black serpent roped itself around the Sannin, nimbly leaning it's great head into its master, who rubbed at the scaled head with his pale hand, "My, Jiraiya, not even a greeting to your old friend, after so long. You disappoint me." The man said through a mock hurting tone.

"Stop with the games, tell me why you're here and now?" Jiraiya questioned, his hand still clamped on Naruto's shoulder tightly. Not to say the blond appreciated it, in fact he was quite peeved the man had the guts to restrain him, which he hated with a mighty vengeance.

"For the same reason you are," Orochimaru's eyes flew to Naruto, the pure glee barely veiled in his eyes.

Jiraiya shrugged with a blank expression, "Unfortunately I can't let you have it. You know me, I hate giving more than anything." Neither his voice nor his expression betrayed an ounce of emotion but one could feel the danger lurking behind his carefree tone.

Even if it hadn't been what Jiraiya intended, Naruto still felt the stab of anger at being referred to as 'it'. It was very, bluntly obvious what Orochimaru came for and Jiraiya had not made it any secret what he wanted too. All scenarios were unfavorable for Naruto. The least worse was Konoha and the worse-worse, Orochimaru's hideout. Even if he wanted to believe Konoha would be worse, he knew that would just be him lying to himself. There was no telling what Orochimaru would do to him for fun. He cringed at the thought of it all.

"Fool, I think Naruto-kun can make decisions for himself, can't you?" He stared toward the blond as he queried on that last bit, making it clear he was directing the question to the youngest occupant in the ruined building. Naruto was silent however but that did nothing to bother Orochimaru who just shrugged. "You Jiraiya and all of Konoha underestimate him. You wish to control him like an animal because you don't know what he is capable of, while I seek to free him off his leash. It is that which he desires the most, free rein." He broke off eye contact with a shift of his yellow snake-like eyes to Naruto's, a smile pulling his lips apart, "Even now, they all think you're weak. If only they knew…" He cackled internally through his lungs, his eyes yet to leave Naruto's.

Jiraiya glared intensely, although in his eyes was not hatred but rather concern – at where this was going. "You sick bastard. You only want him for his eyes. You couldn't care less whether he died."

"At least I need him for something. Where had you been all his…troubled life? Off gallivanting with women to care about the poor boy you left behind." Orochimaru licked his finger, the grin of superiority he felt exposing his sharp canines, "You had your chance, and you failed, as always Jiraiya-kun." Orochimaru enjoyed that, seeing the downcast glint within Jiraiya's eyes, it excited him. It reminded him of how easily he could slip under his former teammate's skin and he enjoyed it too much. He stared yet again toward the blond Jinchuuriki, the smirk plastered to his face stretching further into a dark grin. "He and I are similar, we want the same thing." That though, confused Naruto enough for him to lift an eyebrow and worried Jiraiya enough for his blood to rush cold.

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed and he took a stalking step forward, his hand sliding off Naruto's taut shoulder. Tsunade and Shizune's eyes watched him from the back, knowing that things would soon take a turn for the spoilt. "Orochimaru, I swear if you don't turn back. I will end you this time." He threatened simply.

"Will you now?" Orochimaru questioned with a mocking tone, staring at Jiraiya's hard as stone eyes. The snake flicked its long tongue at the whitehaired man, crooning dangerously as it slithered from Orochimaru's petting, "I can see you mean to this time. A pity I won't be intimid-"

"Kabuto…" Said bespectacled boy perked up with a smile, bringing his gaze toward the one calling him – Naruto. "It was you on that day…" If the furrowing of everyone's eyes was anything to go by, it seemed that all were confused by that question-statement. Naruto himself was not even seeking an answer; his eyes were on the ground - almost as if he was conversing with himself. After all he could be. He had mumbled his words loud enough for them to be heard and not be mistaken for a whisper addressed toward himself, for his own ears. He was answering himself, nodding along with each word, much to the disturbance of everyone.

"Excuse me Naruto-kun?" Kabuto's friendly tone could not veil the confusion that was apparent on his features.

He was still a bit out of his wits and clutching desperately to the strong barriers of his mind to prevent being swept away by the current of emotions he had been experiencing or the flood of knowledge he had carved out a whole for into his readied memories. The Gedou Mazou had stripped him off a bit of his rationality or maybe not, "That day when we met…" Kabuto raised an eyebrow in some form of interest, "You told Danzo didn't you?" Naruto nodded to himself mumbling 'yes' under his breath while a brief look of worry flashed past Kabuto's eyes before an innocent smile came upon his face.

Kabuto kept his smile to disarm the blond. "I don't know what you're talking about." Kabuto lied, of course he knew. He did not wish to risk Orochimaru-sama's chances to ensnare such a promising prospect. He did not wish for him to have to pull their trump card so soon.

Naruto's expression twisted into a snarl, a terrifying look of pure anger and unrestrained madness. The gates holding back his rage shattered and it poured into him like a hot stream of lava his insides could just not hold, which needed to be let loose, on a poor soul. "Yes, you're the reason what he was able to find me, why he…" he brought his face up, letting all gaze at the disturbing look within his eyes. "KILLED HOTARU AND HIGURE, YOU!" for the umpteenth time in Naruto's life, all measures of reasoning left him and he could smell death. He dabbled in it, letting his anger wash away in a foul stream, his rationality. Chakra bubbled around him much to everyone's disgruntlement. It was stained red and it took all the air within the space into itself, replacing it with phantom of an icy frost which whispered of danger, of death.

Nobody saw Naruto move; one moment he lifted his face, his Rinnegan glowing with malice and the next, he was before a surprised Kabuto who could not move out of the way as Orochimaru, from the hard punch that clattered against his face, bending his face in and sending him reeling backwards and crashing through at least a number of walls before his momentum was halted, out of the sight of everyone.

Tsunade's eyes were wide, so was Shizune's while Jiraiya had a stunned expression. The pig oinked with a grimace and as for Orochimaru; he appeared even more excited, licking his lips darkly.

Naruto turned around to stare at Orochimaru. While he had never been able to correctly organize Danzo's memories and lacking a great deal of access to them due to the fact that he had absorbed them, basically having a second brain, he knew Orochimaru had been in league with Danzo. The man did not even appear unperturbed by his searing glare, meeting it with his own sly one. Still, he would let him believe he did not know much at all…

The rubble shifted and Kabuto stood up, balancing against the wall behind him with dirt and pouring off his face and form and an angered gleam in his usually sly eyes. He wiped a hand across his face, being met with a smear of red. His eyes hardened into stones, if that was even possible and anger exploded in a flood across his face. He set his eyes on Naruto, sneering in both pain and rage…

The rubble heaved and shifted and Kabuto sat up, balancing himself against the wall behind with blood pouring off his face and an angered glint in his usually immoveable eyes. He wiped a hand across his face, being met with a smear of blood. His eyes hardened in untamed anger and he set his eyes on Naruto. "You little brat…" he balled his fist as he swayed to his feet, "You little brat!" he repeated, the bloody scowl he adorned making him appear more sinister than he intended. "YOU LITTLE BRAT, YOU'RE DEAD!" Kabuto shouted as steam rolled off his face, while the wound gouged unto his temples healed and knitted itself together quiet impressively.

If Naruto could force himself to laugh, he could've, but when working with the hand of vengeance, laughter was an insult, to yourself and to those in whose name you claimed vengeance.

Kabuto spread his hands from his form and blue Chakra frothed about them, taking on the form of scalpels in each.

Kabuto was tense, his wide red eyes telling of a mad rage. He was poised to attack, to kill. "Kabuto," the soft call of his name by Orochimaru slapped the anger right off Kabuto's face. He turned his gaze to his master, whose back was to him, "keep that mouth of yours shut, if you don't want me to kill you myself." Kabuto faltered slightly but his intent remained, the intent of a man harbouring a wounded pride.

Naruto, heedless of Orochimaru's words, began stalking toward Kabuto, a rod of Chakra flaring into his hand. Orochimaru made no move to stop the blond. Jiraiya however did. "Stop, it's not worth it. He's not worth it."

Naruto turned his eyes to the man, and then to the strong hand restraining him; restraining him from meting out justice against those who had wronged him and his loved ones; a hand that would deny him his vengeance. A scowl came onto his face. It sickened him that this man had the pluck to stop him, to tell him wrong from right. He knew right of course, and justice was right anyone deserved to have. "Let go of me." Naruto hissed quietly, that only Jiraiya managed to hear and identify the threat veiled in his words.

Jiraiya's own eyes, firm and drawn on Naruto's victim, hardened. He stood, towering over the visibly smaller blonde, and casting a shadow of eldership over the defiant blond. "No!" he replied forcefully.

Naruto's head fell and a smile, a dry, empty one at that, tugged at his lips. "Alright then, Godfather."

Jiraiya's eyes went wide, not in surprise or elation, but because of the pure malice with which Naruto addressed him. Whatever response he had dug up in the moments thereof was stifled when, his godson's agitated Chakra spiked. The air was sucked from the space and he felt his own weight increase without his control, a tremble invading his knees. Letting his eye wander, he could see that everyone was feeling the same strain. A compressed wave of gravity blasted at him, repelling him backwards from Naruto.

Jiraiya was no genin however as he righted himself to a stop with the grace requisite of a seasoned Shinobi, a frown already sketched to his face.

Naruto could see in the man's eyes, Jiraiya felt some odd form of responsibility toward him.

Jiraiya thought he had seen Naruto's gaze before in someone from his past. It looked so familiar. It was without something he had always wished to see in Naruto's eyes when they finally met, innocence. Now that he thought about it, he thought he saw someone in Naruto who used that look. He thought he saw…Nagato.

Naruto turned, shifting with him his gaze as he returned it to the infamous Sannin and his stooge. He gripped his black rod, made a ram handsign with his left and vanished. Naruto appeared under Kabuto who leaped into the air to avoid the leg sweep, only to be met with a harsh invisible impact into the back of his from an unseen force which sent the bespectacled youth plummeting to the ground.

He righted himself in the nick of time, expertly planting his right hand to the ground, using it as a springboard to launch himself to a graceful landing. His eyes dazed and confused, they wandered to Naruto who stood right where he had swept at Kabuto's feet. He removed and flung a continuous flurry of Kunai and Shuriken at Naruto and the space where he had been assaulted by the invisible party.

The swarm of Kunai and Shuriken, targeted at the air, missed as they whizzed past where the impact had come without being impeded. The remaining, far larger flock swerved with a whistle toward Naruto who merely stood waiting like a rock.

Naruto remained unmoved as he watched the sharp-edged weapons fly his way with blank eyes. Kabuto smirked. The weapons never hit. Like dazed and drunken birds navigating unfriendly, heavy skies, they were met with an invisible wall and plummeted to the ground. Kabuto's jaw did not exactly fall because he had expected as much. He knew as much.

He stood up straight, as he had when they arrived and pushed his glasses up, miraculously having recovered his stolen bowl of confidence and now for a lack of better terms, completely full of it. "Impressive as usual; I couldn't have expected less of Higure's grandson, you are worthy of those eyes." Kabuto planted his fists to his hips, staring appraisingly at Naruto, his earlier anger forgotten in the most anomalous of whims. If his intention was to rile Naruto up, it was certainly working magic. Orochimaru seemed all the more impressed, for his most trusted servant was utilizing his greatest weapon, his tongue.

"If there is one thing you need a lesson in, the one thing your grandfather forgot to teach you, is respect." Naruto winced, visibly this time. Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune were not impressed however, even if it crossed their minds that Naruto was somewhat deviant and headstrong. But such was the Shinobi World; the only respect you were going to be subject to was a Kunai to your skull. Kabuto however, needed a lesson himself in how to rile people up and be good doing it, because he was doing it all wrong if one ventured that far. "Do you know who this man is?" Kabuto pointed at Orochimaru, staring down Naruto who had yet to shed his silence, "You shoul-**UARRGH**." The venting Kabuto doubled over in pain as a blade of Chakra was shoved straight into his back and out his left breast, the culprit again nowhere to console the seeking eye.

"Reveal…" Naruto whispered as a cruel smirk entered his eye and behind Kabuto materialized another clone in a haze of black smoke. "Banshou Ten'in!" Naruto muttered and Kabuto's feet left the ground with ease a bird taking off would be in awe, floating toward the hand-raising blond. A hand raised like a reaper about to claim his latest victim, Naruto was denied that privilege yet again as Orochimaru intervened quickly and nimbly, carefully knocking Kabuto off the path to certain death with a subtle kick.

"As much as I enjoy this little demonstration Naruto-kun, I cannot let you kill Kabuto yet." Naruto firmed his frustrated gaze on Orochimaru. "Now I have an offer for you I believe might interest you."

"I'm not interested then." Naruto in typical moody style fired back.

Orochimaru chuckled in amusement, "Don't be a bore Naruto-kun. Besides, it is not a matter of interest or choice dear boy, you simply have to listen." The man's eyes took on a forceful glint, and his voice rose with each word, a clear sign of seeds of frustration at the stagnant quality of the situation.

Naruto gave a sharp twitch of his lips, mischief entering his rippled eyes, "I know what you're going to say, but I'm happy with being my own hag." Naruto mocked but nevertheless Orochimaru did not seem any bit concerned or annoyed. Or if he did, he did not convey it.

If only, Orochimaru's confidence shot to the roof, the broad grin growing further, snaking his tongue over his lips, "Kukukuku, oh you have to listen, if you truly care about these two." Confused, everyone's gaze wandered to where Orochimaru's hand motioned. Contrasting sounds of feet shuffling against the ground reached everyone's ears. Two figures melded into view with a mechanical sway, the dead calm about them unnerving like dropping ravens from the sky. Their skins were flecked with dirt like the rising dead, which in fact they were. The taller figure, with long faded red hair, stood tall and impassive, his blue samuraiesque armour adorned atop a black outfit and pants.

His gaze swept through the group; sharp and cutting through them all. It took the breath from all those who had committed his features to mind, for different reasons altogether. Behind him stood another, considerably smaller, her mouth firmed shut, brown hair pale as her skin, simply dressed with a green outfit with long folded sleeves and dark grey pants, her forest green eyes dewy and pale.

"No…" Tsunade voiced the surprise of the whole group who could only look on with shock and undisguised fear. Jiraiya's pupils danced within his eyes, as all the elusive pieces finally melded together as one to form a clear coherent picture. He had always thought he had known Kushina, but this tossed a spanner into his knowledge. Things were far more complicated than he had thought, far too complicated. He stared at Naruto and said youth was frozen, pale and taut with disbelief and Jiraiya, finally understood Naruto the child.

Naruto's control over the beating of his heart fell through and he froze cold, shivering without the cold. It felt as if the air was snapped from his very lungs. He fell to his knees, tears already threatening his moistening eyes. The feeling was what he could not describe, but his heart leapt with joy even with the creeping uncertainty of his eyes and his mind. A smile slowly stretched his lips apart and for the first time in years, he just smiled; his hands and knees on the ground. "O-Ojii-san, Hotaru-nee…I…you..." he stood up and without much hesitation crept forward, however the Black Viper intervened, coiling before him and hissing with a threatening drawl.

Naruto stared at his family, who were unmoved, who shed no emotion at all at seeing him. "How?" He frowned lightly to accompany his words, his gaze strung on the two.

Orochimaru seized the opportunity, moving to intervene as he leapt atop the snake summon, Kabuto and the resurrected Higure-who helped the injured youth up- and Hotaru wordlessly following after him, "I brought them back, and should you come with me, a lot more will come your way." The Snake Sannin offered to Naruto.

Jiraiya had seen enough and the disgust and repulsion he felt were better left unexpressed. He tensed with the intention to move, Tsunade did not let him as she threw a hand across him to halt him from his intent. Feeling his anger flare, he turned to her and she motioned to him to keep watching. "Wait, don't get involved just yet." She suggested, her words voiced with a warning.

Jiraiya snorted, "Are you joking? I'm already involved. You don't understand do you?"

"I understand enough that if you jump into this, Uzumaki Higure will kill you for Orochimaru." Jiraiya's purpose-filled eyes faltered and he went silent, frustration clear in his eyes.

"What do you suggest then?" the whitehaired man queried with a conceding sigh. He knew that Tsunade was only acting out of concern. Edo Tensei were mindless puppets, Naruto however gave the impression that he hadn't wrapped his head around that little fact and Jiraiya hoped he did very soon.

"We wait…" she said simply, trailing off deliberately for Jiraiya to interpret himself.

Meanwhile, Naruto stood below the Giant Serpent, his eyes fixed on the group of four atop of it. After a long rather fruitless argument with himself, he finally spoke, "They don't remember me do they?" He questioned.

Orochimaru gave an appraising nod, "Yes, because I made them so. You can call it my insurance bargain, just until you accept the offer of course."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, "What offer? What do you want from me?" Naruto could not keep his eyes off the pale duo in whose eyes his solemn figure reflected. It all seemed wrong, how animated they seemed, the lifeless glint of their eyes and how mechanical their stance was. They did not even blink and they stood like puppets, bound to forgotten strings, strings which were not being pulled yet…Orochimaru's strings. Naruto's heart ached with wrenching pain, for the first thing he had ever dreamt of when envisioning his second reunion with his family, was the laughter they would share, the days filled with endless love and happiness. This was a nightmare compared to that dream, that fleeting childish fantasy. It was a nightmare, like everything else, like Haku…

"I want you to join me in Otogakure, a place for people who don't belong anywhere, like you, like me." Orochimaru began with a disarming smile-the likes of which many deemed men of his kind incapable of, but of course Orochimaru was aptly skillful at a lot more than many spoke in hushed, fearful tones about him, "You will have all that you want, even immortality and the lives of these two." At that he gestured at Hotaru and Higure, his beguiling smile stretching further at Naruto's attentiveness.

Naruto fell into a long silence, contemplating things. Higure and Hotaru's stares cut through him, through his rationality. "And what will you want in return?" The blond finally asked, he was surprised himself he had asked that question because by now he could already have accepted Orochimaru's offer without much thought just to see those faces even once. It seemed he still retained part of his sensibility, a small part that is.

"The secrets of the Rinnegan." Orochimaru declared, much not to the surprise of any present.

Naruto felt his lips dry, his throat hoarse and tangy. He licked his lips unconsciously, swallowing a gulp of saliva. Right at this very moment, he felt something missing. He realized he missed the Kyuubi's counsel, the source of the wisdom he oft took for granted, and thus he struggled with coming to a decision. He could feel the tension of Jiraiya and his group and Orochimaru's expectation, and the blank presence of Higure and Hotaru. The weight of expectation fell on him hard with the weight of the sky, and his palms were slick with sweat despite the winter chill. A black cloud, reminiscent of doom, hung over him and Naruto gazed into the sky, noting the afternoon sun absently, the simplicity of its existence, rising and then falling behind the horizon daily. A dull existence truly, but one he would not mind to have at this moment, the freedom of a simple life. His head fell back limply, and the rings of his eyes contracted and he poured his empty gaze on that of the two puppets, because that was what they undoubtedly were.

The anger returned, and that weight, crushing as it were was cast aside like the ghosts of one's existence after a fierce confrontation, but not wholly forgotten and to be conquered another day. Naruto did something no one would expect of him in such strenuous a situation, he laughed, and he laughed with a hard intensity. "Haha…hahaha…hahahahahahahahahaha…." The laughter was forced and full of mock and mirth, grating on Orochimaru's nerves but he endured it. "And what makes you think I will join you? After all the things you've done and the people whose lives you've ruined?" Naruto's laughter turned cruel, as all the emotions he felt seeping into it.

"Oh but you forget, you're not exactly the saint you think to be. Your trail can be traced through the bloodshed and the death that remains in your wake. How many have you killed hmm? A hundred? Two hundreds?" Orochimaru queried to which he was met with silence, as expected, "Your massacre of the Root Division, let's not forget Nami no Kuni and the band of thugs and mercenaries you slaughtered and enjoyed doing it." Orochimaru shed a sinister, deprecating smile directed at Naruto, "Counting all these things, you'd be insane to think you would not twist some heads along the way, raise a few more in alarm or attract deadly vultures."

"You have been a fool this whole time boy. You thought leaving Konoha would be the end of your troubled life? You haven't seen enough hell yet. The pain has only begun." Orochimaru spat with a snarl.

Those words echoed over and over within the caves of Naruto's mind and the blond fell dead silent, listening to his grinding brain or the troubling, ominous words from the Sannin. Admittedly, he had been a fool, but he had been a young fool, venturing into the open world, so vast and full of unknowns. His journey had led him to his grandfather, to someone who had been like a sister to him, led him to the truth about his lineage and finally to his roots. That journey had brought him friends; Jinyancha, Mosuurei, Inari and the adventures that either followed or proceeded thereof. That journey led him to his first love and heartbreak, to Haku and revealed to him the dangers awaiting him from the shadows in deadly silence.

Naruto spat a snort of derision, a defiant smirk playing on his lips, "I never thought that the Legendary Sannin were fucking idiots." The blond spat, his eyes wide and full of disdain, for himself, Orochimaru and the world.

Orochimaru took exception to that, despite himself, a snarl of anger sketching onto his face and an angered twitch of the brow disturbing his pale features, "Insolent brat, you will pay for your arrogance. I will make your life a living hell." Orochimaru's pose and eyes grew dark and threatening, and the Serpent he stood upon rose higher as it sensed conflict, its eyes gleaming and the loud hiss of its voice filling the chasing the silence of the area away.

Naruto raised his head, meeting Orochimaru's impatient eyes with his defiant ones, "Feh," Naruto scoffed in a hushed tone as he closed his eyes, "What do you think my life has been like building up to this moment, paradise? I looked at the Shinigami and I laughed at him, same as I just laughed at you." Okay that was not exactly true, but it got the message across, that Naruto was taunting the Sannin, which was not very smart mind you, but he did it anyway. "So what difference would a little more pain make? I've taken everything that's come my way and I'm still here and I don't see Danzo or Gatou or Root anywhere. And you will also pay for defiling my family's graves, I swear."

"It seems everyone wants something from the wandering orphan, running away from his past…" the blond turned his eyes to Jiraiya, "seeking an alternative future to the one scripted for him. And they're not going to get it." He whispered softly, letting the wind carry his defiant message across as he lowered his gaze to the ground.

Naruto let his stubborn tenacity wash away his solemnity, replacing it with clam and the same anger he harboured, the anger that kept him alive on so many occasions, that immortal rage that he felt at the world, at himself, at his father, Jiraiya and Higure, for all leaving him when he needed them most. Now, that anger was alive in him, as alive as he was and as it had always been and simply, he was ready to kick ass and die doing it if it came to it. "I would rather die than go with you Orochimaru," He turned around yet again to stare at the silent Toad Sannin and his entourage, "or with you. And if I have to defeat the whole of this world to get everyone off my back," he smiled despite himself, "you can trust that Naruto Uzumaki will not discriminate or back down."

Jiraiya did not give any outward reaction to that statement, but on the inside he hurt, hurt more than he had ever before in his life. Those words cut far too deep into his already scarred heart and what hurt the most was that he understood why, because he would've done the same. Naruto's eyes had yet to leave him, calm and full of defiant fire, a look that said 'you will not take me alive.'

Jiraiya gave a morose sigh, and sauntered forward toward Naruto, the calm stepping of his wooden Geta sandals pounding against the wooden flooring, creating a tension-elevating beat of a kind. He stopped on Naruto's left, his gaze on Orochimaru, "Your father would be proud of you kid. I know I am." He admitted wistfully.

With winter already creeping in, the soft breeze was a tad chillier than expected, but it set the motion for what was to come. Either man was stubborn in his intent. Orochimaru was calm but slightly aggravated, while Jiraiya was taut and full of distress. Naruto was the opposite of both men, caught between anger and calm and he loved it.

Naruto's gaze swept through the group. It hadn't quiet dawned on him yet that he was in the presence of lengends, living legends that is. Naturally, that tight knot of fear had danced within his insides, weighing him down with fright and it was of course natural to feel overwhelmed in the face of such daunting opposition.

Tsunade seemed unperturbed by all this hostility but Naruto knew better. Shizune, who stood next to the blond woman, obviously thought the odds stacked against Naruto judging from her eyes and they were of course. The Sannin were not your ordinary Ninja, and certainly not Konoha ANBU black ops.

Naruto voraciously drew in a long trail of air and drew his hands together into the ram handseal, puffing out his chest with the release of all the tension with an equally long exhalation. Jiraiya and Higure, by Orochimaru's command, were already on him like moths to a flame. Naruto had prepared his quickest and efficient Jutsu. Jiraiya was first to Naruto, throwing a long fist for Naruto's face. Just as his attack blew wind at Naruto's temples, Naruto was already ready, ducking underneath it, his eyes widening as he called forth the Jutsu, "Earth Release: Erupting Stone Pillars!" the earth shook, halting Higure's charge as he came to an unsteadied stop and great pillars of earth were fisted out of the ground one after another aggressively, one erupting below where Higure stood, catching him in the process with its momentum and tossing him away in the direction of another.

Orochimaru, atop of his snake with Kabuto and Hotaru watched calmly as Summon did all it could to dodge and slither past or around the gargantuan, rising fists of rock, of size so daunting they towered above it. In a short space of time, the whole area was littered with a field of monolithic pillars, and ruin covered the whole area, with houses scattered like paper, the tall ones impaled by the pillars. The stirring earth could not see a reprieve as more of the pillars erected themselves out of the earth. Tsunade and Shizune leapt out of the way of the dangerous zone, but none followed or rose after them like Orochimaru, Jiraiya or Higure.

Jiraiya ran along the length of one of the pillars as it rose into the open with impressive speeds, making handseals as he did so, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he put his hand against the pillar, and a large cloud of smoke erupted into view, casting a shadow above Naruto above the grounded Naruto and the female duo.

Orochimaru too followed Jiraiya's example with a similar chain of handsigns and declared loudly, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Smoke covered Orochimaru's Black Summon, and a long, gigantic serpentine blur reached out from it and swept at the pillars, destroying most of them with the whipping lash of its tail.

Naruto did not need to guess who it was that could announce itself in such a manner, or whom would emerge from the summoned cloud of smoke, and he too threw his hands into motion, weaving summoning seals with the necessary speed, and a ring of dust rose around him, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Thank god by some miraculous turn, there was no interruption from the target and a large plume of red smoke, the third around the area covered Naruto similar to Orochimaru and Jiraiya and just as quickly vanished with a gale of wind which scattered the veil of dust and smoke.

As the ear-crunching rumbling died down to a hollowly silence and the cast of the dust-smoke blankets scattered away, Naruto stood under the intimidating form of a strangely stern Jinyancha, who wielded a mace and a large axe in each hand, his lower torso billowing with fiery smoke. His red armour clanked calmly and he hovered menacingly off the ground. "**Naruto, this isn't my idea of fun**." The Jinn grumbled childishly.

Naruto ignored the almost instinctive twitch of his eye but the grave aura about him could not reduce him to that level as he swallowed a sigh. "It's not mine either, but this has become personal." The blond replied, his eyes fixed on the form of Higure who stood under a great purple slithery beast with black rings running around its form, which was coiled around one of the pillars, opposite a great dull reddish toad with a blue Happi vest and a dosu blade attached to his hip, and the snake seemed, if Naruto professed an ability to read summon expression, annoyed.

"**The one with the snakes reanimated Higure I see. A cunning fellow indeed, but much without honour it seems as to dig up the dead**." Jinyancha spoke with some form of reprimand, his gaze on Orochimaru, "**Then there is the toad, the son of that prophetic tadpole Gamamaru. What cause do you serve toad of Myobokuzan?**" Jinyancha queried Gamabunta.

The toad let out a long ring of smoke from the kiseru pipe dangling at the corner of his lips, "**Jinyancha-sama, I'm humbled by your presence but can I suppose that an agreement can be reached, to disperse this situation. I fear crossing weapons with the God of Fire**." Gamabunta spoke in response. Truthfully, Gamabunta was not in the mood for a bout with a Jinni. That was simple madness; even Manda was not that foolish however-

Jinyancha allowed just the twitch of a smile to grace his lips, "**The toads have always been an honourable folk, but in this instance, I'm afraid the interests of this special boy force my hand. A battle can't be helped**." Jinyancha stated with an emphatic tone, honing his gaze upon the form of Manda.

"This is…it can't be. That thing is a Jinn." Tsunade proclaimed breathlessly, her eyes wide and disbelieving. If she thought she had seen it all, that obviously wasn't the case, she was just beginning to.

"A Jinn?" Shizune questioned with confusion, she thought she had heard the word before but she could not put a tale to it.

"Jinnis are spirits of fire and earth, some of the oldest creatures to ever exist, bar perhaps Dragons. They're above summons; in fact they're not even summons. This is a mismatch Shizune, Gamabunta and Manda don't stand a chance." Let it be known that Tsunade would never see Naruto in the same way, suddenly, she felt fear- she feared…Naruto.

Orochimaru looked over his shoulder at Kabuto who stood behind him, a frown on his features, "Kabuto, I don't believe there was anything in your report regarding…this." The man pointed at the form of Jinyancha with some form of withheld apprehension.

Kabuto, whose eyes were wide, adjusted his glasses with trembling fingers, the wound on his chest still bleeding profusely much to his own horror. He could feel the disappointment and anger in Orochimaru's voice, even he was surprised and shocked by this new act, "Forgive me, it seems I did not account for this one Orochimaru-sama." The bespectacled youth coughed blood, the Chakra rod with which he had been stabbed remained and even with every effort he tried, he could not pull it out as his whole shoulder was paralyzed and Naruto's Chakra prevented him from freely transferring his Chakra to the wound to heal it. He could not curse Naruto enough; the insufferable brat had to pay.

"**Naruto**…" Jinyancha called to the blond as he lifted and spun his mace with one hand, strung to his hand with a leather string.

"Let's go." Naruto declared, and two things happened. The first, Manda constricted the pillar he was coiled upon so hard it shattered and secondly, the ringing noise of Gamabunta's blade coming free of its scabbard. Manda flew at Jinyancha, fangs bared and Gamabunta leaped high, his blade raised with both webbed hands.

Manda fell atop of Jinyancha first but the Jinn dispersed into red smoke, materialising behind Manda to block the swing from the toad, large sparks scattering all over. The Jinn manifested two feet, delivering a kick, which was blocked by Gamabunta but managed to push the toad backwards.

Jinyancha swivelled around as Manda slithered his way, lifting his mace, the Jinn flew at the snake with the one intent in mind…to batter it straight to hell. Jinyancha swung his axe horizontally which spun toward Manda wildly with a roar, fire catching onto it and a long wave of fire from the ground following its trajectory…

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**I just could not go any further from here on, apologies. Next update will be quicker, 'probably' on Sunday.**

**What do you think of the clone which can go invisible, a mystery thus far in many readers' minds I can assume? **

**Immortal out…**


	18. The Peace at the End of the Mess!

**Still broke and don't own much of nothing, except a horde of theory papers for fantasy and drama novels. **

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"If [when] you're going through hell, keep going.**" – Winston Churchill**

**N' with tha' I presen' ye with th' nex' chapterrrrrrrr! **

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**Chapter 17: The Peace at the End of the Mess!**

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There was once a time Jiraiya had thought he'd seen the impossible and thus had written out anything else that might be to his eye, of that thought. There was a time when he thought stranger things had happened but the events of this current day swept aside those notions like a deck of worthless cards. There was a time when Jiraiya thought he wouldn't have to revel in awe of another's power nor ever find himself locked in such fragile and tense a confrontation ever since Hanzou the Salamander. Then there was a time Jiraiya thought he would never find Naruto – however briefly – the thought crossed his mind and he languished in doubt of himself.

When after tracing Naruto from Nami no Kuni to Yu no Kuni, Jiraiya very well deemed the struggle over and his guilt retreated to the recesses of his being. Finding Naruto from then on had been simple if not easy. The people of Yu no Kuni were very friendly and open and many claimed to have seen the blond with the 'striking eyes' skirting toward a fairly shabby but nonetheless homely inn at the southern district of the area. From there Jiraiya had traced the blond to this part of town, at the outskirts of Yu no Kuni, away from the prying eyes of Yugakure. Jiraiya had accomplished both his tasks – finding Tsunade from her self-imposed exile and finding his runaway godson. The latter thought, was complicated, not to say convincing Tsunade had been easy by any means because it had been far from it and she was every bit as stubborn and childish as Naruto and thus it'd all led to this situation – to this god forbidden confrontation.

He had never foreseen such a situation or having to fight Naruto, not that he ever intended to, along with Orochimaru but the summoning of the Jinn surely made him rethink that decision. Everything was not going well, watching Manda skitter toward Jinyancha with Orochimaru, Kabuto and the Edo Tensei settled atop of him reminded Jiraiya of how hard this all had to be on the blond. It brought him to why he was in the first place, fighting Naruto – so he could also beat the living hell out of Orochimaru.

The situation had quickly soured; far too many factors had weaved this whole confrontation together into a messily trussed, despicable mess – such being the introduction of the reanimated Uzumaki Higure and the girl. He was not on Orochimaru's side as was the case he was certain of the other Sannin, however Naruto was also not on his side. Fighting Naruto was not necessary or the nonsensical lot, it was unavoidable. It was what the Jinn Summoner wanted. Naruto would recklessly charge after Orochimaru, Jiraiya would have to prevent him from making any serious, grievous mistakes.

Gamabunta set forth for a second charge at Jinyancha but a rumble and crack under his feet made him stop. Gamabunta pulled from his Kiseru pipe and held his Dosu blade firmly. If there was one thing he hated, it was being summoned to foolish situations, even if the adrenaline rush did his blood some favour. Seriously, what had Jiraiya been thinking? The earth cracked and split open as the Black Viper exploded underneath him, - jaws stretched wide open as it leapt for the chief toad like a cork shot out of a bottle. Gamabunta blew a large cloud of smoke at the Viper's face and within a split second, the ring of his Dosu blade cut across the air, Gamabunta slicing through her with a single slash, – the serpent vanishing in an explosion of smoke, the noise of the chief toad's Dosu blade sliding into its sheath impregnating the air once again, Gamabunta standing like he had not moved.

Within Gamabunta and Jiraiya's sight, Jinyancha lifted his mace with him and as soon as Manda slithered under the flying axe of fire, the Jinni was already in his face, a smirk to his features, "**Brace yourself!**" Jinyancha hollered as the butt of his mace came down on Manda so hard – just as the group settled atop him scattered with well-timed leaps- the earth roared and cracked and fire erupted from within the ground from the shattering impact which tilted the earth and tossed Manda through a field of high rise buildings, the snake roaring with pain as he seemingly swept through numerous walls and houses, rubble flying in his wake. Jinyancha tossed his mace to his free shoulder as Naruto stood on his left, a satisfied grin to the Jinni's face. "**I believe that is what should be called, a home run**."

Naruto sweatdropped despite himself- a home what now? Anyway, out of the great huddle of rubble and the ruinous towers and falling pillars flew put Higure who charged Naruto and Jinyancha, his hands already thrown into blurring handseals.

The flying axe rose once again within Jinyancha's hand with a puff of smoke as if it had never left. Naruto swallowed, his jaw clenching tight as he prepared himself for the assault and it came extraordinarily hard, "Suiton: Suryuushime!" Water seeped from within the earth covering the great field like a shadow on haste, wetting the whole ground below the feet of everyone, before with a rush the water waved up with a roar, encircling Naruto and Jinyancha -Higure conducting it with throws of his hands as he came fast for Naruto. The large wave rushing in a circle around them focused into a great water dragon, the biggest Naruto had ever seen with great glowing eyes. It let out a roar and whipped around Jiraiya like a noose for catching cows, compressing the bulky Jinn tightly without difficulty with Naruto watching on helplessly.

Naruto's hands flew to his sword and it came off with a metallic ring just in time for him to block Higure's slash. Naruto leaned all his weight into his front foot as he pushed into Higure or rather attempted to, quickly discovering how foolhardy that idea had been when the reanimated man did not budge so much as an inch, like an immoveable stone. Higure's dispassionate purple orbs stared straight through him, a kick lurching forth from the man, catching Naruto in the chest, throwing said blond tumbling down toward the ground with a steep dive and a grunt to match.

Naruto attempted to right his fall so he didn't fall headfirst to the hard ground, twisting mid-air with harsh vacuums of air slapping his face and his long locks of hair. Naruto managed to fall on his knee in a bow which unfortunately snapped wildly, a bone twisted within it with Naruto letting out a scream of pain that let all those within earshot know he had not come out unscathed from the fall. Naruto held on to his right knee, which was mangled and facing where it shouldn't. He grit his teeth in anger, gazing up to see Higure racing down the bound and struggling Jinyancha's back, after him.

Naruto grabbed his leg and with bravery he never knew he possessed, hauled it back into place, a howling roar ripping from his lips that scared off the birds from the tress nearby. Higure was soon on Naruto again with a blur of red, black and blue, sending a decapitating slash which Naruto avoided with a tilt of his head, the blade passing over his head by mere inches. The aged Uzumaki returned with a frenzy of seeking slashes for the blond, who limped out of the way and found himself on the end of some rather foolish dance that could only be defined as 'dodge-and-not-be-cut-in-half' as he danced to Higure's dangerous Kenjutsu tune.

Manda flew over their heads with a shadow which splattered wind against the dancing Naruto and Higure's faces face – fangs bared; the snake sunk his fangs into the restrained Jinyancha's shoulder like he was some meaty bull, eliciting a howl of pain from the Jinni. Manda wrapped his form over Jinyancha with the pressure of his fangs, strangling the Jinn with a murderous tightness in the only area where the water dragon had not fastened itself over, his throat. Gamabunta looked at Jiraiya over his shoulder with a questioning glance, "**Now who am I supposed to be fighting here?**" The Boss Toad queried with a grumble of annoyance.

Jiraiya looked to be scratching himself as well, in the end he settled for giving Gamabunta a look that said: 'are you seriously going to ask me that and now man?' Nonetheless the Toad got the message and his blade came off with a ring, and he smirked, "**Snake it is then…**" the grouchy toad set forth in a speeding charge for Manda who was constricting the Jinni as hard as he could, Jinyancha now spotting a pale blush that covered much of his bronze face and ear, whether from a loss of air or poison only he could answer, but he struggled fervidly.

Gamabunta leapt high, his Dosu blade reared above his head to run it through Manda, however Manda had seen him out of the corner of his eyes and whipped out his long tail, slapping Gamabunta in the chest while he was air-borne with it before he could do as he planned, sending the toad crashing into the ground on his side with an earth-quaking impact. Manda eased off some of the pressure, fastening more of his lower self and drawing his fangs from Jinyancha's shoulder which now pulsed with palsy white veins, ropes of saliva hanging off the great snake's fangs. Manda, wrapped around the bulky Jinni's neck, glared at the Jinni with a cruel grin, polishing him with a flick of his long tongue, "**Such…taste. I've already marked you as my prey, o' great one**." The great snake hissed mockingly at Jinyancha. "**Since that fool will not give me any sacrifices, I suppose you will do rather fine…**" Gamabunta rolled himself back to his feet within their sight, "**As soon as I'm finished with that meddlesome toad**." Manda whispered.

It was clear to see Manda wasn't easily intimidated, perhaps it was a snake thing, but anyway back to the main point here. Jinyancha, sweating, could feel the ropes of poison sweeping through him like a thousand daggers being stabbed all over his body at second intervals. Now he knew this was certainly not his idea of fun, but alas, he had gotten into it with excitement and he had to find his way out of this debacle. The water dragon was fastened tightly around him with a crushing intensity, immobilising his whole arms, but he still held on to his axe and club. He cringed as a throb went through his chest, if the poison got to his heart, he was done for. He knew he had to find a way to free himself and draw it out, if he even knew how to.

Manda eased himself off of him and slipped away toward Gamabunta who had made it to his feet.

Jinyancha cast a strained glance to his left where Naruto was kept on his heels with Higure, who was coming on too hotly for the youth to handle. Jinyancha liked Naruto; okay that had already been established but Jinyancha liked Naruto in a sort of fatherly way, even though their interactions had always been far and few between, when they did come together it was interesting but however, the dark thing was, Jinyancha always appeared when something bad had happened or was about to happen, like with the girl – Haku was her name if he remembered correctly. Naruto had fallen far too many times, but he picked himself up every time afterward but sometimes you got tired of falling, he knew the feeling more than anything. Today could be one of those days where the blond could fall and possibly never get back up again. He liked to think he understood Naruto better than anyone, possibly even himself.

He wasn't all jokes and games; he had an intense seriousness to him that he kept veiled most of the time. The jokes where to liven things up with Naruto and get him out of his shell a bit more, whether it worked he had no idea. When he had been summoned to battle, the first of many he assumed, the situation smelled of imperious danger and there had been something about Naruto's eyes that shook him, although he didn't show it – that fire had flickered, only briefly, almost as if Naruto had wondered however briefly whether death would be a better solution to his problems.

It angered him but now watching on as Naruto fought through even despite that roused something within him, a fire which burned within him, something hot and full of desires. He was perhaps pushing it but better to than let Naruto have to deal with everything alone as he has always done. Naruto had to know he had someone to count on, even if it was one. He moved his Chakra around like a ball, kneading it as he had done countless times before. There was a sudden rise of heat and thick streams of vapour and hot steam began to blanket the area, sending Jinyancha's nostrils into a flare.

It swept through and covered the whole area like fog, hanging like a veil of white steam around. The water dragon wrapped around Jinyancha groaned and fizzed with a rush, hot vapour rising off it carelessly like intense sweat in the harsh summer heat. Flames flickered around Jinyancha – licking up his form, being smothered as they tried to climb over the rope of compressed water fastened around him in the form of the dragon – before rising again as if the water only fuelled their intent. The whizzing sound of water being boiled or rather, prodded with kisses of fire rang through the area, so loud as if some foolish scientist was trying to cook a great wave of ocean water. The steam rose in such great amount, it hindered visibility – but the keen eyed could still see – and shot up straight into the skies above, employing itself the duty of blanketing the whole area which was now a space of white and silhouettes of trees and flitting objects barely visible from up close and completely invisible from a great distance. Finally enough was enough and the water dragon collapsed and burst into a shower of small water droplets and hot mist.

Manda cast a worried look backwards, his distraction allowing Gamabunta to surprise him with a flurry of kicks and punches, ending with a long and hard spinning kick from the toad which tossed the snake backwards like a frolicking rope.

Naruto blocked another one of Higure's well-aimed slash with great difficulty as white steam engulfed them from out of nowhere, the blond cursing inwardly at how much of a mismatch the whole situation was. Higure was a Kenjutsu master and he flowed through Naruto's attacks like a boneless otherthing, attacking with a ferocity that had the blond greeting his teeth with frustration and praying that he lost nothing of his being when all was over. Naruto, feeling braver sent a wild flurry of attacks which Higure danced through and swayed quite simply out of with enviable ease. Naruto sent a forward thrust at his reanimated grandfather's torso through the heat of steam which Higure caught with a hard-as-steel grip, pulling Naruto in close like fish being reeled in and punching the lights out of him with a hard fist which sent said blond stumbling backwards, coming to a hard tumbling roll across the ground.

Naruto stood up with a tremble, a numbing pain bucking his broken knee as he struggled with quickly executed pants. The fingers of the shower of steam caught onto his face, hair, and hands, and he grew warm, hot, but he still hurt. Higure examined Naruto's blade strangely with his eyes, the smooth surface of silver growing a tilt at the end, reflecting his glassy, dark sclera eyes. He quickly cast Naruto's sword away as if it would bite him and took off toward the blond with great speed, briefly melding into the fog before emerging yet again.

Naruto tried to will himself into a move but found himself unable, as Higure came closer, just a few yards and seconds. He could feel, even as he couldn't see him clearly, his steps – light as feathers against the agitated ground, pounded within Naruto's ears like a giant's strides. He thought about all he could do but his mind was in a muddle and he had no time to execute his great escape as within barely a whisker of a second Higure was in his face, his sword thrust toward Naruto's eyes which went wide.

A harsh wind scattered the shroud of steam away, clearing Naruto's vision. Naruto had since frozen, for the first time in his life, looking death in the eye, merely a breath away from his face. He felt something wet ghost down his cheek with a shallow touch but he had no time to wander what it could be.

"Ojii-san…" Naruto whispered absently. The shadow of Higure's blade fell on Naruto's temples, and Naruto closed his eyes, waiting for the cold rip of steel to plunge through his head. It never came. A second passed, another ticked by and then another and slowly, Naruto's eyes fluttered open to see a glassy eyed Higure standing over him through the remaining fringes of mist, the sword still held to Naruto's temples hesitantly as if the man thought better than to put it exactly where Naruto had thought he would. Naruto read something which he had not been able to read at all from the reanimated Ojii-san, emotion, flickering like a ball of light with only a hair's worth of power remaining to charge it up.

Higure's lips opened and he murmured something Naruto didn't quite hear. "N-Naru…" he whispered again and Naruto's eyes went plate wide, his hot breath coming out in trembling huffs.

Orochimaru sneered with anger, his slit eyes glowering at the mist-shrouded sight of the crouched Naruto and the petrified Higure above him, "He's been stalling this whole time, the old fool." He held his hands up, bringing them to the snake handseal, in the distance Higure flinched, "Well then, I think it's time we finish things up don't we?" the Sannin smirked viciously, '_And kill the boy when you're done with him._'

The little colour that had come to Higure's eyes faded and the impassive minion once again stood before Naruto. He gripped the blade hard and gently pulled it back to plunge it through Naruto's hard, but just suddenly, a hard punch came crushing through Higure's head, revealing Jiraiya behind the Uzumaki as the head dispersed into dust who then hauled the Edo Tensei away from the crouched Naruto.

Jiraiya only managed to throw a concerned glance toward Naruto before Higure returned with a splitting slash to Jiraiya, the Sannin nimbly sidestepping the attack aimed at carving him in two and throwing a sidekick which caught Higure in the back of his head, sending him to the ground.

A free Jinyancha, looking slightly paler than before, flew after the Uzumaki, sweeping his mace at him, catching Higure with the butt of it like a fly and tossing him away.

Gamabunta shoved his blade for Manda's head as the Snake stalked toward him, rolling back to avoid the plunge from the toad. Gamabunta threw forth a kick which Manda slithered under; throwing his fangs up to bite into the toad's outstretched leg. Gamabunta reared his leg back, pulling his sword for a swing at Manda who slithered back, and began a stalking game of sorts as he went around Gamabunta in circles.

A great shadow fell over Manda, who stopped and dived out of the way just as a great foot crashed into where he had stood and Jinyancha appeared suddenly. The Jinni was breathing harder but somehow still holding on, Manda's jaw fell, probably with question of how the Jinni was still able to move after he had bit and 'poisoned' him. Jinyancha was different, stern and frowning – somehow that ticked off all alarm bells within Manda's head for some reason or the other. The Jinni held on to his shoulder, which part had become blazing smoke, probably to stop the flow of poison to his most precious organ, his heart.

Manda sneered; Jinyancha turned his eyes to Gamabunta, nodding to the toad. "**I could really use some of that special oil dear toad**." Gamabunta sped past Jinyancha, his cheeks puffing up. He spat a long trail of dark, glistening oil toward Manda, and Jinyancha tossed his axe into the long wave of oil, igniting it into a blazing inferno, taking on the form of Jinyancha's axe followed by a blaze of fire, except a wholly bigger axe. It loomed over Manda with a roar, the snake plunging himself into the earth to avoid burning to death. Gamabunta went left and Jinyancha right, the Jinni manifesting a strange, giant disproportioned foot which one could assume he had no intention of brandishing for everyone to see. He stopped and stamped the great foot on the ground, the earth tilting with a quake and Manda emerged from the earth trapped within a block of great stone like one of those fabled swords.

Manda spat a purple fog of poison toward Jinyancha, who leapt away from the mist of doom but Gamabunta flew toward the restrained snake with his blue Happi vest nestled under his nose, running his Dosu blade through Manda's head, the snake glaring at him one last time before vanishing with an explosion of smoke.

Jinyancha fell to his 'knees' in the distance, trembling and looking unbearably pale with his brows knitted together into a frown, "**Blast! We should've scorched his arse!**" Gamabunta sheathed his blade into its scabbard and looked toward the struggling Jinni as the fog of poison cleared away with a whirl. Gamabunta was startled when something small, soft, slimy and creepy slipped into his breast under his vest. He was relieved when he saw a white and blue silhouette. Calming warmth swept through him. Great white, blue streaked man-sized slugs swarmed all over him and caressed his bruises with kisses of healing Chakra, and Gamabunta slumped to the ground and made himself comfortable.

Jinyancha opened his squinted eyes to see a great, giant of a slug, its optical tentacles firmed directly into his eyes with an intense stare. It kept staring and Jinyancha stared right back, what was he to do than stare back himself. The slug just stared silently without any words, eventually making the Jinni sweat drop. The Jinni coughed,

"**Katsuyu-sama, if you don't move quickly he will die**." A voice spoke from atop the giant slug which jerked suddenly, snapped out of whatever stupor it was caught in.

A great tint of red engulfed Katsuyu's optical tentacles and the slug hurriedly spoke, "**A-Ah yes, Jinn-sama, Tsunade-sama**," the slug cast a quick look of its optical tentacles to the blond woman perched atop it, "**sent me to assist you. If you will let me I w-would draw out the poison from your body**." Shizune frowned and Tsunade sweatdropped from their position atop the great slug.

Jinyancha smiled teasingly, "**Oh would you now? Well come here you big softie." **If it was possible, Katsuyu's whole face became red and steam poured off its whole form as it writhed slowly and embarrassingly toward the Jinn. Jinyancha was forcing his smile however, as even doing so brought immense pain to him but even still, his thoughts were on Naruto.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya turned to Naruto who pulled himself to a painful, uncomfortable stand, flicking a rod into his hand as he and Jiraiya stared each other down. Naruto didn't know what to make of this situation and Jiraiya's lips parted just briefly, but their little moment was ended when an unlikely source landed like a nimble feline amidst them, barely troubling the earth. Naruto's eyes wen wide, brown hair billowing calmly in the fingers of a soft breeze, Hotaru aimed an upward, chastening glare to both godfather and godson, her hands in a seal.

Naruto's eyes widened, a glowing three-dimensional cube of Chakra with a white sphere at its centre held in Hotaru's hands throwing burning light across his face. He stood paralysed to Hotaru's gaze and taken by surprise like Jiraiya who stood a few feet from Naruto, struggling to fit this new information into the picture he's already formed about his Nee-chan. That picture was just torn apart by this, shock engulfing Naruto as all that he thought made sense was actually a whole lot of rubbish.

The cube expanded and engulfed the space around the three, the light growing increasingly hot, reflecting in Naruto's rippled eyes as it warped him into its inviting, perilous glow. Naruto felt hard hands clutch at him before tossing him away roughly from where he stood as the cube went off with a shattering explosion that rocked the earth and knocked the air out of him as the succeeding shockwave tossed him backwards from the epicentre. A great plume of smoke billowed calmly into the sky. Naruto reeled across the ground where he lay, coughing the dust from his lungs as he rose to his feet with a hobble. As the delirium cleared from his eyes he could see Jiraiya's back to him, the sleeves of his outfit and his Haori charred and floating away in small bits of cloth, while the Sannin's left arm bled with agonising ropes of blood.

"That was no normal explosion. That was one of RyŌtenbin no Ōnoki's attacks." Jiraiya frowned at the impassive reanimated Hotaru. If what he read was anything to go by, even Naruto was just as shocked of this new discovery as he was. He wondered briefly, how much Naruto did not know about his family. Counting Konoha, it was a lot…

He perked up as he saw a charge coming from their left, Higure running toward them. The aged Uzumaki flung great hordes of Kunai straight at them with impressively quick wristwork, holding his hands in a seal after flinging the last one. One went right through Hotaru's head, while the others curved toward Naruto and Jiraiya with trailing thin laces of air tailing behind. Naruto raised a hand and blew the ones heading his way with "Shinra Tensei!" Jiraiya dodged of course, it was only natural – watching the Kunai sail past him. "Get up!" Naruto's voice injected Jiraiya with a shock, the man looking behind to see the same horde of Kunai swivel in mid-air and then back in their direction as if pulled along with strings. Jiraiya flew to his feet with a shallow curse under his breath, and took off in a run with Naruto, the Kunai hot on their tails.

They disappeared into the great forest cupping the district – which took one further into the outskirts of western Yu no Kuni and into Otogakure, the swarm of sharp projectiles seeking them frivolously. Naruto and Jiraiya skid to stops near a clustered field of trees, slinking themselves against the widest barked trees in the brush. Naruto cursed, how could he have been stupid, gran-the Edo Tensei must've put the binding seal on him earlier when they fought, how he put one of Jiraiya he only wondered. The Kunai would pursue him to the end of the world if possible. He turned his neck against the bark to stare toward Jiraiya who held a Kunai ready. Naruto heard a flutter of leaves and raised his hand proudly just as the Kunai came hurtling through the thick foliage of leaves above them with a whistle of air, "Shinra Tensei!" announced Naruto, quickly scampering the Kunai's approach with a rippling layer of gravity and blowing them skyward. He focused Chakra to his eyes, hastily checking himself with his eyes, before finding what he sought in an invisible seal drawn across his wrist with very little Chakra within it, so little Naruto knew he wouldn't have been able to spot it had there not been any.

He heard another strong whistle of air and looked up to see the army of Kunai far above them begin a descent toward the ground having lost their power and now subject to natural gravity. He ran to Jiraiya thoughtlessly, surprising the man who looked around. Naruto's eyes trailed every potion of the man's being quickly with a turn of his ripples before spotting the target, hidden under Jiraiya's mane of hair, "We haven't much time. Those things will return right?" questioned the white-haired Sannin and Naruto merely gave a nod of his head. Jiraiya was right; using Shinra Tensei was a waste of Chakra if they didn't get the seals off them but the Sannin didn't know that yet.

Naruto forced Chakra to his arm, expelling the seal from his arm – where Higure had touched him when he pulled him in for a punch. Jiraiya looked on with some form of astonishment as scribbles of ink ran down Naruto's arm, down his wrist and into his arm before falling from each of his fingers with a leak of ink bereft of any strength.

Jiraiya was impressed at the level of seal work. He was no amateur mind you but even he was incapable of coming up with such intricate, dangerous seals, "Is that what's making the Kunai chase after us?" Jiraiya questioned, seeming somewhat frustrated at being totally in the dark about all of this. Naruto gently nodded again, seemingly content with nodding to every question Jiraiya posed. "So your Rinnegan can see seals?" Jiraiya asked with his eyes wandering about them in every direction for any sudden assault that might come out of nowhere. He was having a very bad day indeed.

Naruto hesitated first just for a brief second, contemplating the question before giving another nod of his head, as he rounded Jiraiya, standing behind the man and untying his ponytail, Jiraiya's bushy, spiked hair falling into Naruto's hands and across the man's back. Naruto plunged his hand into the great mess of hair, guiding his hand where his eyes showed him a faintly glowing blue seal wrapped around a lock of hair near Jiraiya's scalp. Naruto heard a whoosh of air, and Jiraiya tensed. The giant trees in whose midst they stood dropped a few leaves and the duo knew that the skyward horde was back for them – well not really, they were back for Jiraiya and the man knew that if his tense posture was anything to go by as Naruto searched his hair. He glanced over his shoulder to Naruto as panic set in. Any Jutsu he had would only slow them down, not stop them. He just wished Naruto would work quicker.

Jiraiya's eyes strayed up toward the foliage of the giant trees above them where the sunlight came through the leaves and then the army burst through with a speedy whoosh that ruffled up the thick brush, heading for Jiraiya and Naruto like a one-minded explosive with a whistle of steel through the air. "Kiiid…" Jiraiya called with a sense of impatience filled with the urging message for Naruto to hurry but Naruto ignored him, still rummaging through Jiraiya's white hair.

Jiraiya held up his Kunai, Naruto still going through his hair, and the Kunai still falling for him – the other way around – with the intent to turn him into a human pincushion. Jiraiya felt a bead of sweat run down his brow, the sharp ends of the Kunai pointing at him now merely feet from his face. He never closed his eyes and they never stopped, thin wind whipping against their pointed ends which he imagined would be running through every bit of him. They were now close, casting small shadows against his form like vultures sweeping from the sky with a dive for the earth. They were now a hair's breath away from his face when they all disappeared into thin air, a breeze sweeping their silhouettes away.

Jiraiya felt himself relax, his erratic heart slowing down gradually to a steady beat, "You did that on purpose didn't you?" questioned Jiraiya with an exaggerated glare behind his back at Naruto. Jiraiya hadn't known Naruto for very long and suddenly, he hated his pranks, they were dangerous. Naruto's idea of funny didn't cut it with him, but nonetheless he would laugh himself at some time in the near future, if he lives after today.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders as he turned around to head back to the clearing. "Naruto," the blond stopped to stare back at the Sannin, "Thanks." Said Jiraiya with some difficulty, almost as if 'thanks' was not something he said very often or just to anyone for that matter. Naruto's eyes narrowed and he pushed forward without saying much of anything in reply to the Sannin who followed after him quietly.

Naruto was capable of three things at the moment about ; swallowing his pride and accepting help, swallowing his anger and working together with Jiraiya and last but not least, acting mature about the whole thing. He wasn't capable however of playing buddy-buddy with Jiraiya, not in the least now of all times. He also wasn't capable of letting himself be dragged like a runaway child to Konoha, but that point had already been made clear. One thing he was utterly capable of, which he would be doing till he drew his last breath, was kicking ass and now Orochimaru's ass laid in waiting, if he got through…them first. That was his thought as he stared at Higure and Hotaru standing in the clearing, which really wasn't a clearing but the mangled and destroyed district which had not so long ago been furnished with houses, people and the smell of food, fire-smoke and life. Now only pillars of rock stood speared through the buildings while others lay in ruins, and small trails of fires, clouds of smoke and the smell of battle, upturned wet and charred earth had replaced the pleasant scent that'd not long ago been wafting through the whole area.

Orochimaru stood behind Higure and Hotaru, a smirk to his lips, "And finally they emerge, I'd begun to think you had forgotten all about us." He mocked while Kabuto – on both his knees and still reeling in pain with his hand to his speared chest, was behind him – still hanging on by some miracle of sorts. His long dark swayed in the wind, as did his earthen-coloured tunic which was held fast into a bow by a purple rope.

Both Jiraiya and Naruto gave no reply but they mirrored each other's expression as they both glared at the pale man, "A few seconds more and you'd have missed me but don't worry, before I go, I just wish to leave you with a little gift." He said as he stared at both Naruto and Jiraiya, "these two," he swept his eyes through Hotaru and Higure, – "the Sandaime Tsuchikage's granddaughter" – he had said as his golden eyes passed Hotaru, revelling at seeing Naruto's eyes widen in shock along with Jiraiya's, "If you can handle them that is." He chuckled deeply, grabbing on to Kabuto before his feet and Kabuto's began melding into the ground.

Naruto became livid; his eyes burning red as he watched Orochimaru slowly meld into the earth with a victorious reptilian smirk, "Oh it was good seeing you, Naruto-kun. We'll meet again, that's a promise." Naruto ran for Orochimaru but Higure stood in his way, "get out of my WAAAYYYYYY!" Naruto roared as he attempted to heel the aged Uzumaki in the chin with the sole of his boot. Orochimaru couldn't get away just like that, not without a scar, a lost arm or anything of that sort that would teach him never to mess with Uzumaki Naruto. Higure caught Naruto's foot; spinning him wildly around before tossing him toward Jiraiya who caught said blond.

Naruto was breathing short huffs, his whole face red with anger and his eyes glowing red with the intoxication of his tenant's Chakra. He looked across and Orochimaru and Kabuto had finally left, with no such sign of them anywhere around or below. Naruto's fist tightened as his anger threatened to drown him.

Higure sped toward Naruto and Jiraiya, appearing above Jiraiya and delivering a whirlwind spinning kick to the Sannin which pushed Jiraiya back. Naruto brought his hands up, Chakra pulsing through him but Higure vanished into thin right before him, leaving Naruto seeking with a dumbfounded expression.

Higure appeared crouched before Naruto, gutting him with a twisting punch which snapped a bone or two and lifted Naruto off the ground, spit flying out of a gaping Naruto's mouth before the back of Higure's boot met his face, sweeping him away. Naruto railed across the ground with a pained grunt, cracking an eye open in pain to see Higure over him, an ashen pale hand lowering toward him like that of a reaper reaching for Naruto's soul. Naruto, still intoxicated with anger lifted a hand desperately, Higure catching it tightly with his, clutching it so tightly it stemmed, momentarily, the rushing anger of Chakra through Naruto's coils. The words left Naruto's lips before the technique was even performed – "Shinra Tensei!" the reanimated Higure stood there and took it all, the pulsating wave of smothered gravity shattering half of him into dust, offering Naruto a moment of reprieve, his hand red from the effort.

This was insane; – Naruto thought, for how could he have gotten to Orochimaru in the first place with him being subject to this…beating? He knew the necessary Jutsu to end the fight(s) but it required of him a tad more speed and mobility. He was not slow by any means; Higure was merely faster, faster than Jiraiya too.

Hotaru came crushing headfirst near him, Jiraiya flying after her with a spiralling ball of pure, condensed Chakra. Naruto jumped away as Jiraiya crashed into her with the 'Rasengan', burrowing her into the ground with the Jutsu with a rumble of dust rising in its wake.

Jiraiya leapt away to stand next to Naruto, panting and holding on to his injured, burned arm which had taken some damage from Hotaru's earlier attack when he shoved him from the explosion. "We have to seal them. That's the only way we can stop them." Suggested Jiraiya with a sideway glance to Naruto. Naruto was not exactly sure on when they had allied together but he was not begrudging about it. He was not ashamed to admit that had it not been for Jiraiya, he would be, for a lack of a better word, fucked.

Naruto shook his head in the negative, "No, I know how to stop them and save them at the same time." The words sounded forced, unsure, carrying an audible uncertainty and hesitancy Jiraiya expected, but was merely glad for receiving a voiced response and not a silent nod. "I…we need to find a way to restrain them for a few seconds and I'll do the rest." Jiraiya appeared slightly hesitant but the sharp gleam in Naruto's eyes made him think otherwise, reminding him of a tall man with similar blond spiky hair and piercing blue eyes. Besides, Naruto's eyes had strayed to his gut or Jiraiya thought they had and he understood.

Jiraiya nodded his acceptance as he entered a wide stance, his limp hand hanging by his form, Naruto standing behind him, still looking quite uncomfortable with his injured knee but strong enough to stand now that Kyuubi's Chakra worked its healing effort on the damaged limb.

A rejuvenated Higure flitted in their direction like a launched missile, only the dust of ruffled earth demarcating his charge. It seemed he came back stronger every after every fall or attack, perhaps, Jiraiya supposed; Orochimaru was no longer restraining more of his power as he did originally, wherever he was. Jiraiya could only conclude the Sannin had implanted second talismans into the Edo Tensei in their absence. Thus why it seemed Higure grew stronger.

Jiraiya leaned into his back foot and shot sharply off toward the blurring Uzumaki. Their elbows met each other, blow for blow, as they began a myriad dance of Taijutsu. Higure launched s punch for Jiraiya's face, the Sannin ducking under it, returning one of his own which whizzed past Higure's face.

'_Kyuubi…_' Naruto called within the confines of his mind as he tapped into his mindscape. The blond was not left unattended to however as Edo Hotaru suddenly got the idea he was up to no good at all, and advanced for him with a fervent run. Naruto settled into as strong a stance as he could; – having recovered much feeling and strength in his leg to be able to move somewhat effectively. He favoured all his weight into his stronger leg though; his hands held three-fingers open from his form and hanging before his eyes. He sidestepped the skidding leg tackle she came at him with – an earthly screech and roll of dust blowing ferociously with the effort. She came at him again, considerably stronger than he was, throwing very quick, raw but well aimed kicks into his right side which Naruto blocked with ease. She held her hands together as she weaved moderately paced hand signs with her small hands, great stone encasing her small hands to give her longer reach. She bolted toward Naruto mindlessly, but this time, Naruto had seen enough and the flowing red Chakra within him had revived him enough to meet his intended purposes. He was slightly surprised at how the fox had not opposed his request for Chakra but knowing that sly old fox, it could have its own motives for doing so.

He threw a brief glance to Jiraiya and Higure's blurry silhouettes in the distance, the two still at it, with Jiraiya shooting some sort of hair needles at the elder man who either let them hit or swayed himself into a dodge. He raised both his hand, an instinctive sigh flying out of his lips as Chakra vibrated through him and to his chest. The Edo Hotaru seemed to realise suddenly what he planned as she came to a stop, Chakra already flying to her feet but Naruto was not about to have it, "Banshou Ten'in!" he declared and the effect was considerably quicker – Hotaru yanked toward him, Naruto catching her with his hands, three golden chains snaking around her to restrain her forcefully. "Gakidou!" he whispered and held his hand firmly against the back of her head, searching for the talisman he knew, or supposed to be implanted somewhere in there. Her jerking movements as she struggled against the chains binding her to Naruto like a tightly embraced infant were all in futility.

Naruto's heart fell, all his hopes of a miracle collapsing like useless mud in the face of sweeping water, his eyes falling into the shadow of his long bangs of yellow. He traced his hand against the back of Hotaru's skull again, and again but nothing, absolutely nothing. The talisman wasn't there, or it was there but not for him to pull out. He didn't know and he certainly couldn't see it either, just a blot of Chakra. Reality crushed him, slapped all the energy out of him. Stripped him and lay him bare, and he reclined himself to doing what it was he had said to Jiraiya he would do, save her.

His eyes glazed over and became moist, and he leaned into her ear, "I'm sorry Nee-chan." He whispered as he swallowed his tears, knowing yet again where it was he would be sending her; somewhere he would never see her again. He planted a hand over her head – her struggles all poorly futile, his jaw clenching tight, "Ningendō!"

Hotaru gasped as Naruto's hand fell against her head, except this time bearing a cold feeling to it and grabbing onto something which could not be imaginably touched, sending a chilling shiver through her. Her skin turned earthen pale and cracks appeared over her form, as if she had been collected from numerous bits of earth and pieced back together into a useless shell of her former self. The fog cleared from her eyes and her eyes finally could see of her own accord, the blindfold and darkness having left her. She looked around mechanically and her eyes were greeted with a land wrought with destruction, billows of smoke and blankets of louring clouds hung above a field of upturned earth, rubble and cleared forestry and great beasts gathered in the distance, stealing a quick beat off her heart.

A warmth was wrapped around her and she craned her face, spotting an angular, face wrought with whisker marks of three on each cheek. She smiled; he was taller than her now. Three fairly sized, warm chains of gold wound around her form, holding her tight against Naruto's form. Her breath hitched and she tried to move, "No, don't move." Naruto whispered oddly in a voice tinged with guilt.

"Naruto, what's going on?" she questioned with a tilt of her eyebrow, more cracks appearing against her form like peeling fabrics of paint. She could still feel Naruto's supernaturally cold hand against her head, and the stupefying, emptying feeling that such a shadow touch brought to her whole form.

Naruto's rippled eyes squinted shut, and he pulled his lips together tightly, shutting his jaw tight before with a tremble of his lips he managed a shallow, "I-I don't really know."

"How am I here, I remember being st-" Naruto silenced her with a finger to her lips.

He made an awkward smile of his lips, "You've been sleeping all this time. This is just another dream, and you know what…" he spoke softly into her ear, locks of her earthen brown hair brushing against his paled, guilty face, "you will wake up very soon and everything will be fine." She smiled, despite her confusion, feeling rather childish at being told by Naruto of all people but she felt as if he was not only saying that to her but to himself.

"Then, wake me up Otouto." Hotaru whispered into his chest. The influence that had wrought her form not long ago, stringing her along had gone, she could guess because of Naruto but she just wished for it to end. She wasn't stupid of course; she knew she was dead, very dead. Even if it felt as if she had been gone a second, her last memory being of seeing a tear messed Naruto kneeling above her, she knew it had been a long time for the blond. "Do you promise it's going to be alright, to wake up I mean?" she found herself asking insecurely as the hold of the chains lessened on her form and they crept off her form.

Naruto's chuckle came out cracked and bittersweet, "Yeah, in fact there's nothing I want more." He said and she nodded her resignation just to let him know she felt assured and confident in him. Her back to him, she smiled one last time as the feeling of Naruto's hand on her spectral, immaterial-self increased and pull became hard and draining.

Tears trickled down Naruto's face ghostly and he resigned himself to his duty, there was always no happy ending after all for him, but Hotaru could have hers in the very least. His hand throbbed with unwanted responsibility and he pulled, feeling Hotaru gasp yet again as she had done when he touched her, and agonisingly slow, Naruto pulled, a clear, formless spectre lifting from Hotaru's head with a sway, clasped in Naruto's hand. The cracks on her form became pronounced and longer, and as Naruto pulled out the last of her soul, she crumbled to dust, which was swept away around the blond in a circle of soft, powdery earth. He let go of her soul, watching as it was elevated into the air, a phantom face of Hotaru materialising from a great cloud and smiling at him just as the soul disappeared with sharp, blinding glow of heavenly light which fell against Naruto's face.

Naruto closed his eyes as he made her memories his, embracing them and opening himself to them to become a part of him, from the unpleasant, the falls, the sorrow and the laughter, there were an ever-changing constant as all human memories were, but there was one thing there he held very close to his heart, the smile. She was now a part of him, all her secrets, her hopes and dreams, her whole being, more part of him than Danzo would ever be allowed to be. He didn't have to question his identity this time, or feel sick about himself, he knew who he was and he knew who Hotaru was to him and at last he understood as he had always wanted to. He felt peaceful, almost as if a part of him has been liberated, and the weighing cloud of guilt slowly lifted because he knew, Hotaru never blamed him.

He breathed in a sigh of relief and looked across the clearing. Higure was engaged in brutal combat with Jiraiya and Naruto knew he had to end the battle with his grandfather, he just dreaded having to do what he had to do with Hotaru. Higure had his own secrets, a lot of them, and dare Naruto say, his own bitterness and anger and Naruto knew how strong those emotions were when you took in a person's essence through the Human Path. Would he would be the husk where Higure's anger would fester and live on? He had no idea, he did not even know if he would succeed in executing the Jutsu on the man.

He turned around, his black overcoat billowing in a cool breeze. His gaze flew to his further right, far in the distance where the summons stood, Jinyancha and Gamabunta settled down while a great slug and small ones swarmed over them, green glows of Chakra emanating from where the slugs crawled against their skins. The Jinni threw a look toward him, looking slightly pale but otherwise alright and they both shared an intense gaze, Naruto nodding his head before turning around just as Jinyancha weakly did the same.

Naruto felt his knee by flexing it discriminately. All the pain had faded down to a dull throb and he called his tenant's Chakra forth, the chains hanging messily but tightly around the bars of his mindscape turning a vermillion red before the red sharp orbs of the Kyuubi. He held his hands together as he was engulfed by a shroud of red, intoxicating wrathful Chakra, and a clone puffed into existence alongside him. The clone charged for Higure and Jiraiya who battled in the distance. Naruto felt a reverberating grumble of irritation rumble in his mindscape and smirked, '_Greedy fox._' He thought to himself.

He took off after his clone, a rod of Chakra materialising falling into his hand as he fell into line behind the clone whose cloak billowed wildly with the whip of wind. Jiraiya cast a strained backward glance toward him, before swaying out of the way as the clone burst into the scene, sliding in for a leg sweep which the elder Uzumaki jumped over. Naruto's clone smirked, just as Naruto materialised from the shadow of his clone, flying at Higure and catching him in the gut with a knee, before grabbing onto him and hauling him toward Jiraiya. The Sannin held his hand up and a Rasengan whipped into view. Jiraiya ran at Higure with it, tackling him mid-air with a rugby tackle and shoving the Rasengan into his torso, the blue sphere of Chakra grinding into the reanimated Uzumaki, tossing him directly into the bark of a large tree which he tore right through before coming to a stock with a smack against the bark of another giant tree.

Jiraiya ran through hand seals with great effort as his injured, burned hand throbbed with extreme pain, but he completed the handseals, his hair puffing up like a cat's fur or a porcupine's needles, "Ranjishigami no Jutsu!" Jiraiya's hair grew wildly longer, and harder, whipping in the air and rising above the Sannin's head like a hand of sorts, Jiraiya sent great bundles of his hard-as-steel-wire hair toward Higure.

Higure slipped out of the way of the first whip of hair, however a much bigger one came at him, taking the shape of a lion's bared mouth, it bundled the Uzumaki, whipping around him quickly before fastening tightly on him and the tree. Higure struggled and Jiraiya cast a glance to Naruto who strode toward the reanimated Uzumaki, stopping before him where only his face was visible. Naruto stared into Higure's cold eyes, and heaved a sigh, dreading what was to come. He raised his hand and planted it against Higure's head, straining however at the effort due to the height of the man. Naruto closed his eyes as his hand hardened against Higure's head, "Ningendō!" he murmured, and felt Higure go still as the shock of Naruto's Human Path enhanced hand attached itself to his soul, wiping away Orochimaru's influence from the Uzumaki's system.

"Naruto…" the aged redhead whispered hoarsely and Naruto just kept his eyes closed, not wanting to look. His voice was the same, hard and deep, with a wizened pause to it.

Higure watched Naruto standing before him, his face just ending beneath his own jaw. He was disappointed with himself more than anything, falling victim to Danzo and now Edo Tensei and being made to fight his own grandson, truly he was a disappointment. He had failed again, like he had failed Yuma, Kushina, his whole people and now Naruto. It felt as if he was simply going around in a circle of failure and failing every time he vowed to do better.

"You didn't fail you know." Naruto suddenly whispered to him, and he gasped with shock. he let the blur wash away as Naruto's face became clear once more to him, his eyes, those intense rippled orbs now open and looking at him sadly, "If there's anyone who's a failure, it's me." The blond said softly.

Higure smiled sadly, being careful not to move his head, "You are no failure Naruto." Higure spoke reassuringly and numerous cracks lined around his form similar to Hotaru, the colour that he had borne slowly fading off his skin, leaving a pale earthen sheet of crumbling skin behind. "You haven't failed me, or Hotaru. What happened then was something far too intricate for any of us to handle. It was I who should've protected you and Hotaru, but I failed, as I failed to protect your grandmother and our people." The man's glassy eyes became moist and a shallow tear fell against his cracked cheek, and Naruto felt shock run through him. "Forgive me, N-Naruto." Naruto stood starkly motionless, engulfed by shock at seeing his grandfather, his rock, the man who had always been this great hero, one he wished to emulate, reduced to a mere ordinary man floundering in tears.

Naruto's lips trembled, in fact they felt dry and he looked at Higure, "How could I be angry at you? It's just stupid, I couldn't do it." Naruto admitted, probably not wishing to see more of this. It made him uncomfortable seeing Higure in tears, it somehow stripped him of his hope, of his bravery and his belief in himself, in his grandfather. "I remember was angry that you'd never told me anything about…mom, but that was it, I never went that far as to blame you for not protecting me. I did feel lonely, but I had Jinyancha and it was all because of you, because you wanted to leave me with something."

"Thank you, Naruto" Higure whispered to the blond, and his hand came out of the mess of hair with a struggle for Naruto to grasp, and the blond took it, "I see that you've grown at last." Naruto felt embarrassment and a sense of nostalgia at those words, remembering to the simpler times when he would listen to Higure explain things to him, compliment him for doing well in training and that sort, and being carried to the smell of food cooking in the house. He missed those days…

Naruto took the man's hand, and felt a tear streak down his own cheek, and both men looked at each other and chuckled in a bitter-sweetish fashion, "I will miss you, I am sure your grandmother would've loved to meet you."

Naruto smiled awkwardly, and looked into the darkening his sky, "I'm sure I would've loved to meet her too and Kaa-san." He admitted with a sense of wistfulness.

"Well then, I believe it is that dreaded time eh…" Higure said in a forced optimistic tone – looking at Naruto with sad eyes and the blond nodded uneasily. Naruto drew in a lengthy sigh, swallowing his grief and holding on to the small moment which they had shared, which would last lifetimes in his heart.

He clenched his jaw shut and tightened his hold on Higure's head, the aged Uzumaki smiling sadly but with pride clear in his pale eyes, "I'm proud of you Naruto. Use those eyes well, and whatever you receive from my memories that can be useful to you." Naruto merely nodded without any words or response, his throat dry and his heart throbbing once again, "And remember, we've not left you. We're always watching." Higure smiled at him and Naruto began pulling, the spectre of life trapped within the husk of earth rising unperturbedly with the steady rise of Naruto's hand.

Jiraiya watched on transfixed, unable to take his eyes of what he was seeing. He felt proud of Naruto, prouder than he had ever felt about anyone except his father, and he knew that despite his spurts of childishness, Naruto was well matured beyond his age. But still it took his breath away to see a living person, a human in that able to so easily pull a soul out of another without any exaggerated ceremony, any sacrifice or any of the mythical sort associated with soul removals. Truly the Rinnegan was something to be feared and Jiraiya was glad that such power was in the right hands.

Higure fell with a crumble of dust which swept across the clearing, his soul flying out of Naruto's hands and lifting into the air, and dispersing with a pillar of bright light which threw blinding light across the whole area before it slowly faded away, dark creeping in yet again. Jiraiya's hair went to normal, and he went to stand near Naruto who stood where Higure had been, silent and the two of them gazed up into the sky where Higure and Hotaru's souls had disappeared, the canvas above them which now spotted patches of barely visible stars behind dark, puffy nightfall clouds. The return of the sound of chirping crickets told Naruto that it was all over at last, and that suffocating tension was finally gone.

Night fell and just like that, as darkness crept over the area, and the sky in the horizon was splashed with a hue of dark orange, silence fell over the area. Naruto fell to his knees and collapsed into the ground on his back, the last fringes of sunlight falling onto his face, exhaustion driving him to the ground with Jiraiya looking quickly toward him with worried eyes. He looked into the distance to see Jinyancha had passed out after the poison had been drawn from his body by the slug Katsuyu and Naruto…he hadn't won, he hadn't accomplished anything. He wanted to believe it had all been for naught, just like everything else but he knew what he had found from this confrontation, it was peace.

But alas he was tired, he just wanted to succumb to a long restful slumber reserved only for gods and immortals and possibly if those gods were kind enough…not be roused from his sleep and just sleep forever. Well they definitely answered his need for sleep as his eyes drooped, his eyelids becoming too heavy and overbearing for him to resist and just like that, he was gone, asleep, the last thing his eyes saw being Jiraiya's white hair hanging over his face.

* * *

**Well, honestly this chapter made my life a living hell. I always believe there is a way out of a situation, even if you write yourself into a tight corner and this chapter was one of them. However I always knew how it would go, but what I needed was an appropriate ending and to paint it in a slightly believable way. Those who wanted to see Jiraiya get his ass kicked by Naruto, I apologize, but we all know it was never going to happen.**

**Not one of my best, but meh, I'll get there with time. **

**Immortal out…**

* * *

**Translations;**

**Suiton: Higure **

**Suiton: Suryuushime – Water Release: Strangling Water Dragon**

**Rinnegan: Naruto **

**Banshō Ten'in – Universal Pull **

**Gakidō – Preta Path **

**Shinra Tensei – Almighty Push **

**Ningendō – Human Path**

**Simply kickass Jutsu: Jiraiya **

**Rasengan – Spiralling Sphere**

**Ranjishigami no Jutsu – Wild Lion's Mane Technique **


End file.
